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THE  LIBRARY 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


MEREDITH  WILLSON  LIBRARY 
STANLEY  RING  COLLECTION 


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Mistakes  and  Disputed  Points 
in  Music  and  Music  Teaching 


BY 

LOUIS   C.   ELSON 

INSTRUCTOR    IN    MUSICAL   THEORY   AT   THB 
NEW    BNGLANO    CONSKRVATOKY     OF    MUSIC 


THIS  BOOK  IS  INTENDED  TO  ASSIST 
THE  TEACHER  IN  UNDERSTANDING 
MANY  POINTS  IN  MUSIC  REGARDING 
WHICH    MUSICIANS    DISAGREE 


TH  EO.    PRESSER    CO. 

Philadelphia  Pennsylvania 


Copyright,  igio,  by  Thko.  Prbssbr  Co. 
British  copyright  secured 


Music 
Lib'-ary 

ML 
1^0 

t^-'W. 

PREFACE 

This  little  book  presents  a  phase  (or  rather 
several  phases)  of  Music  which  has  as  yet  re- 
ceived but  little  attention.  It  may  serve  a  two- 
fold purpose.  Firstly,  it  may  aid  the  young 
teacher  in  some  cases  where  authorities  contradict 
each  other.  Secondly,  it  may  call  attention  to 
the  great  need  of  more  unification  in  Music  and 
to  the  difficulties  in  the  path  of  attaining  it. 

It  has  been  judged  best  not  to  discuss  the 
question  of  a  Movable  or  a  Fixed  "Do"  in  Vocal 
Music,  for  here  the  opposing  views  are  fairly 
well  known  to  every  musician. 

Louis  C.  Elson. 


115J>7(;9 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I 

MISTAKES   IN   ACOUSTICS  p^cE 

Acoustics. — Sound. — Effect  of  Atmosphere. — Animals  and 
Music. — Color  and  Tone. — Compass  in  Music. — Definite 
Emotions  of  Keys. — Pure  Tone. — Pitch. — Concert  Pitch. — 
Tablature. — Synchronism. — Sympathy  of  Vibrations. — Archi- 
tectural Acoustics 7 

CHAPTER    II 

ORCHESTRAL    ERRORS 

Compass  of  Orchestra. — Orchestral  Keys. — Scale  Forms. — 
Gregorian  Tones. — Size  of  Orchestra. — Keys  in  Orchestral 
Scores. — Catgut. — Improvement  of  Violins  by  Age. — Material 
of  Wind  Instruments. — Slide  and  Valve  Trombone. — Conduct- 
ing with  Baton. — Violoncello. — Composers  as  Conductors. — 
Obbligato. — Conductors  as  Performers. — Works  on  Instru- 
mentation.— Symphony. — Clarinet. — Beating  Time 27 

CHAPTER    III 

MISTAKES    IN    TEACHING 

American  Fingering. — Language  of  Musical  Terms. — Pedal- 
ing.— Trills. — Turns. — Mordents. — Grace  Notes. — Appoggia- 
tura  in  Recitative 44 

CHAPTER    IV 

ACCENTS 

Natural  Accents. — Artificial  Accents. — Rf.  and  Rfz. — Stac- 
cato.— Thesis  and  Arsis. — Portamento. — Piano  Touch. — Over- 
markings  of  Shading 56 

4 


Contents  5 

CHAPTER    V 

ERRORS   OF   NOTATION 

PACK 

Clefs. — Repeat  Marks. — Whole  Rests. — Double  Whole 
Rests. — Groups  of  Rests. — Change  of  Notation  of  Rests. — 
Notation  of  Smaller  Rests. — Numerals  in  Connection  with 
Rests. — Notation  of  Sharps  and  Naturals  Faulty. — Laws  of 
Accidentals.  —  Over  Use  of  Accidentals. — Probable  Further 
Changes. — The  Name  "Natural." — Step  and  Half-step. — Arti- 
ficial Groups. — Sextolets  Wrongly  Notated. — Long  Slurs 66 


CHAPTER    VI 

TEMPO    AND   RHYTHM 

Time. — Tempo  Marks. — Tempo  in  Old  Music. — Andante 
and  Andantino. — Metronome. — Language  in  Tempo  and  Ex- 
pression Marks. — Tempo  Rubato. — Counting  of  Rhythms. — 
Characters  of  Rhythms. — Alia  Breve. — Old  Notation. — English 
Church  Music. — Other  Rhythm  Marks. — Stopped  Diapason. . .     89 

CHAPTER    VII 

MISTAKES    CONNECTED    WITH    MUSICAL    FORMS 

Repeats  in  Sonata-Allegro. — Phrases  and  Periods. — Theme. 
— Terminology  in  Sonata.^ — Coda. — Five-division  Sc^ng-form. — 
Two-part  .Scjng-form.— Fugal  Nomenclature.^ — Strophe-form. — 
General  Mispronunciations. — Mispronunciali<jns  of  Composer's 
Names. — Names  Frequently  Misjjrcjnounced 103 

CMAPTKR    VIII 

VOCAL    ERRORS    AND    DOUBTFUL    POINTS 

The  Tremolo. — What  is  a  Good  Vocal  Language? — Pro- 
nunciation of  Latin. — Compass  of  Children's  Voices. — What 
Constitutes  a  Musical  Child? — Chorus  Breath  Marks. — The 
Study  of  Metre. — Alterations  of  Words. — Errors  in  Transla- 
tion       iij 


Contents 


CHAPTER    IX 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  AND  PHYSICAL  ERRORS 

PAGE 

Effects  of  Rhythm. — Music  and  the  Insane. — Association  of 
Ideas  in  Music. — Brain  Action. — Memorization. — Beginnings 
of  Musical  Perception. — Quickness  of  Musical  Perception. — 
Lack  of  Musical  Perception. — Celebrities  Who  Have  Been 
Unmusical. — Physical  Changes  Due  to  Musical  Practice. — 
Effects  of  Practice. — Catarrh  Among  Wind-instrument  Players. — 
Longevity  of  Composers .    123 

CHAPTER    X 

ERRORS   IN   MUSICAL   HISTORY 

Odd  Story  of  the  Origin  of  Counterpoint. — False  Names 
Attached  to  Compositions. — Spurious  Tales  Regarding  Famous 
Works. — Stradella's  Prayer. — Berlioz's  "L'Enfance  du  Christ." 
— False  Stories  About  Beethoven. — The  "Moonlight  Sonata." — 
Schumann's  "Warum." — "Weber's  Last  Thought." — Oriental 
Music. — The  Most  Ancient  Music. — Bach's  Suites. — American 
National  Music. — "Yankee  Doodle." — "America." — "Hail  Co- 
lumbia."— "Star-spangled  Banner." — "Glory  Hallelujah" 135 

CHAPTER    XI 

LITERARY    ERRORS    ABOUT   MUSIC 

A  Shakespearian  Error. — Browning's  Errors. — Errors  by 
Novelists. — Other  Poetical  Errors. — Coleridge. — Tennyson. — ■ 
Composers  Estimates  of  Other  Composers 154 

CHAPTER    XII 

CONCLUSION 

List  of  Most  Important  Errors. — The  Final  Remedy. — What 
Reforms  are  Necessary. — The  Need  of  an  International  Musical 
Congress 163 


CHAPTER  I 

MISTAKES    IN    ACOUSTICS 

There  is  no  science  in  existence  in  which  so 
many  matters  have  been  left  at  loose  ends  as  in 
music.  A  variety  of  causes  has  led  to  this.  Many 
of  the  terms  connected  with  music  are  Latin  or 
Italian,  and  the  teachers  of  Germany  have  some- 
times misinterpreted  them  in  their  otherwise  au- 
thoritative works.  Again,  some  leaders  in  music 
have  been  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  acoustics 
governing  tone-production,  and  have  given  their 
sanction  to  false  theories  or  definitions.  Also  some 
teachers,  thorough  in  the  routine  of  their  work, 
have  yet  indulged  in  fanciful  vagaries  as  to  the  cor- 
relation of  sound  to  other  physical  forces,  or  as 
to  the  origin  or  application  of  some  of  the  powers 
of  music. 

In  this  work  it  is  not  our  purpose  always  to  de- 
cide mooted  questions.  We  may  attempt  that  in 
many  cases,  but  in  some  instances,  where  authcjri- 
ties  are  divided,   it   may  be  as  well   merely  to 


8  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

present  the  different  views  and  allow  the  teacher 
or  the  student  to  form  his  own  conclusions.  It 
may  be  of  value,  however,  to  give  to  the  teacher, 
in  a  compact  form,  the  points  in  music  on  which 
authorities  differ,  as  well  as  those  points  on  which 
there  are  undoubted  popular  errors.  No  com- 
pendium of  this  sort  has  yet  been  attempted,  yet 
its  practical  value  in  teaching  must  be  at  once 
apparent.  We  have  grouped  these  errors,  mis- 
takes, and  points  of  dispute  under  various  heads. 

Acoustics 

The  doubts  in  this  field  begin  with  the  word 
itself,  which  some  pronounce  "  A-cow-sticks "  and 
others  "A-coo-sticks."  Either  manner  of  pro- 
nunciation is  permitted  by  the  large  modern  dic- 
tionaries. 

Sound 

While  it  is  understood  that  sound  is  a  species 
of  vibration,  generally  of  the  air,  the  catch-question 
is  often  propounded,  "Would  there  be  sound  if  no 
one  heard  it?"  This  merely  mixes  up  the  per- 
ception of  sound  with  the  physical  force  of  sound. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  9 

For  example,  there  was  sound  of  the  surges  of  a 
boihng  ocean  upon  the  earth  long  before  there 
was  any  ear  to  hear  it. 

Effect  of  Atmosphere  on  Music 

The  speed  of  sound  through  the  air  is  about  a 
mile  in  five  seconds.  Slower  in  cold,  dry  air,  and 
quicker  in  warm,  damp  air.  People  imagine  that, 
because  sound  is  clearer  in  cold,  dry  air,  it  there- 
fore travels  quicker,  but,  as  can  be  scientifically 
demonstrated  by  practical  experiment  in  large 
halls,  the  opposite  is  the  case.  (See  article  on 
"Pure  Tone.")  The  following  facts  about  speed 
of  sound  ought  to  be  better  understood.  All  kinds 
of  tone  have  the  same  velocity.  If  the  heavy 
tone  of  a  bass  tuba  were  to  travel  quicker  than 
the  delicate  tone  of  a  violin,  orchestral  music 
would  at  once  become  impossible.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  deep  tones  travel  further  than 
high  ones.  This  can  be  tested  on  leaving  church 
on  any  Sunday.  The  pedal  tones  of  the  organ  will 
be  heard,  as  one  goes  further  and  further  away 
from  the  instrument,  when  the  higher  tones  have 
entirely  vanished. 


lo  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

Animals  and  Music 
One  may  read  over  and  over  again  that  a  horse, 
a  mouse,  a  spider,  an  elephant  are  attracted  by 
music.  This  is  an  absurd  half-truth.  Music  is 
not  a  natural  science,  as  this  and  many  other  state- 
ments in  non-scientific  works  would  imply.  Nature 
does  not  give  us  a  scale  or  a  single  harmonic  pro- 
gression. The  foundations  of  music  that  are  de- 
rived from  natural  laws  are  regular  vibration 
(tone),  rhythm  (we  all  pulsate  rhythmically  and 
respond  readily  to  rhythmic  effects),  and  separate 
chords  (see  "Pure  Tone").  With  these  materials 
mankind  has  worked  in  many  diverse  directions, 
so  that  it  is  not  incorrect  to  say  that  music  is  an 
artificial  product  made  out  of  natural  elements. 
The  horse  and  spider,  and  other  animals,  would 
be  less  attracted  by  Beethoven's  "Sonata  Appas- 
sionata"  than  by  a  strong  two-step,  since  the 
latter  would  be  more  forcibly  rhythmic;  and  in 
this  they  would  be  joined  by  many  tribes  of  savages. 
Experiments  have  been  made  in  this  direction, 
amply  proving  the  above  statements  and  also 
showing  that  swine  and  donkeys  are  the  least 
susceptible  to  rhythm  among  the  mammals. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  ii 

Color  and  Tone 

Here  we  approach  one  of  the  most  widespread 
fancies  in  music.  There  are  many  most  cele- 
brated composers  and  teachers  who  firmly  maintain 
that  tone  and  color  are  closely  connected.  There 
are  many  who  believe  that  every  key  produces 
the  effect  of  a  color.  Mrs.  H.  H.  A.  Beach,  the 
eminent  composer,  has  from  childhood  associated 
keys  and  colors  as  follows: 

Key  of  C— White. 

F  sharp  minor — Black. 

G  sharp  minor — Black. 

E  major — Vellow. 

G  major — Red. 

A  major — Green. 

A-flat  major — Blue. 

D-flat  major — Violet. 

E-flat  major — Pink. 

Other  composers  give  different  color-schemes. 
The  tones  suggest  colors  to  them,  but  not  the  same 
colors  to  different  composers.  It  is  undoubted  that 
color  and  tone  are  botli  regular  vibration,  althougli 
of  different  kinds.  The  gap  between  color  and 
tone  in  rate  of  vibration  is  so  enormous  that  one 


12  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

can  scarcely  imagine  it  even  when  the  figures  a/f 
presented. 

The  deepest  tone  that  can  be  heard  by  the  brain 
has  sixteen  vibrations  a  second — Sub-contra  C,  an 
octave  below  the  deepest  C  of  the  piano.  At 
38,000  vibrations  per  second  sound  vanishes  from 
the  human  brain.  That  would  give  a  tone  about 
three  octaves  above  the  highest  E  fiat  of  the  piano. 
Therefore  an  active  and  sensitive  brain  can  per- 
ceive eleven  octaves  and  a  minor  third  of  different 
pitches,  from  16  to  38,000  vibrations  per  second. 

The  lowest  vibrations  of  color  that  are  visible  to 
the  eye  are  red  rays,  which  vibrate  about  460 
trillions  of  vibrations  per  second.  The  highest  are 
violet,  vibrating  about  730  trillions.  The  colors 
range  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  as  follows: 
Red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  indigo,  violet — 
not  an  octave  altogether. 

If  tones  actually  gave  color-impressions,  they 
would  need  to  follow  the  above  order,  and  all  com- 
posers would  need  to  agree  in  their  color-scheme. 
As  neither  of  these  things  take  place  we  are  forced  to 
state  our  conviction  that  the  correlation  of  tone  and 
color  is  merely  fanciful  on  the  part  of  musicians. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  13 

Compass  in  Music 
There  are  some  errors  connected  with  this  sub- 
ject. Some  imagine  that  a  six-octave  piano  would 
be  almost  unusable.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most 
orchestral  works  are  written  between  the  lowest 
and  highest  E  of  the  piano.  One  of  the  greatest 
musical  collections  in  existence — Bach's  "Well- 
tempered  Clavichord  " — has  a  much  narrower  com- 
pass than  this.  Orchestral  and  organ  compass  will 
be  further  discussed  in  a  following  chapter. 

Definite  Emotions  of  Keys 
Berlioz  was  the  chief  originator  of  the  idea  that 
each  key  had  its  definite  emotion,  which,  while  it 
has  a  modicum  of  truth  to  sustain  it,  has  been 
pushed  far  into  the  domain  of  imagination.  Berlioz 
gave  the  character  of  the  keys  upon  the  violin,  but 
his  followers  have  carried  this  idea  into  the  general 
field  of  composition,  unwarrantably.  Even  Ber- 
lioz's table  is  rather  imaginative.  It  runs  as  fol- 
lows : 

MAJOR 

C — grave,  but  dull  and  vague. 

C  sharp — less  vague  and  more  elegant. 


14  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

D  flat — majestic. 

D — gay,  noisy,  and  rather  commonplace. 

D  sharp — dull. 

E  flat — majestic,  tolerably  sonorous,  soft,  grave. 

E — brilliant,  pompous,  noble. 

F — energetic,  vigorous. 

F  sharp — brilliant,  dashing. 

G  flat — less  brilliant,  more  tender. 

G — rather  gay  and  slightly  commonplace. 

G  sharp — dull,  but  noble. 

A  flat — soft,  veiled,  very  noble. 

A — brilliant,  elegant,  joyous. 

B  flat — noble,  but  without  pomp. 

B — noble,  sonorous,  radiant. 

C  flat — noble,  but  not  very  sonorous. 

MINOR 

C — gloomy,  not  very  sonorous. 
C  sharp — tragic,  sonorous,  elegant. 
D  flat — serious,  not  very  sonorous. 
D — lugubrious,   not   very   sonorous,   common- 
place. 
D  sharp — dull. 
E  flat — very  vague  and  very  mournful. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  15 

E — screamy  and  slightly  commonplace. 

F — not  very  sonorous,  gloomy,  violent. 

F  sharp — tragic,  sonorous,  dashing. 

G — melancholy,  tolerably  sonorous,  soft. 

G  sharp — not  very  sonorous,  mournful,  elegant. 

A  flat — very  dull  and  mournful,  but  noble. 

A — tolerably  sonorous,  soft,  mournful,  rather 
noble. 

B  flat — gloomy,  dull,  hoarse,  but  noble. 

B — very  sonorous,  wild,  rough,  ominous,  violent. 

On  this  foundation  rests  the  ** character  of  key" 
statement.  Many  composers  of  fame  have  fallen 
under  its  spell  in  so  far  that  they  have  "favorite 
keys."  Beethoven  himself  in  certain  letters 
showed  that  he  thought  of  B  minor  as  a  "black 
key,"  D  flat  major  as  "majestic,"  and  A  flat  major 
and  F  minor  as  rather  "barbarous."  This  could 
only  have  been  a  passing  mood  which  his  own 
compositions  do  not  bear  out.  It  would  be  easy 
to  contradict  every  such  arbitrary  summary  of  the 
character  of  keys  by  famous  compositions  in  them. 
The  modicum  of  truth  in  the  classification,  how- 
ever, is  this:  the  tessitura,  or  general  lay  of  the 
tones,  would  differ  considerably  between  a  work 


1 6  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

in  C  major  and  in  G  major.  When  a  composer 
chooses  a  key  for  a  composition,  it  is  presumable 
that  he  has  used  the  best  possible  pitch  of  tones 
for  his  subject,  and  it  is  always  a  defect  to  transpose 
a  good  work  from  its  original  key;  Schumann's 
"Two  Grenadiers"  or  Hugo  Wolf's  "Gesang 
Weylas"  would  lose  somewhat  by  transposition. 
One  may  also  remember  that  orchestral  works 
depend  greatly  for  their  effect  upon  the  key  chosen, 
for  horns,  clarinets,  oboes,  etc.,  are  not,  like  the 
piano,  equally  effective  in  all  keys,  but  sound 
excellent  in  certain  keys  and  poor  in  certain  others, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  chapter. 

The  fallacy  of  key-character  has  been  pushed  so 
far  that  we  have  seen  it  stated  that  "the  key  of 
F  is  the  key  of  nature,"  also  that  Beethoven  chose 
the  key  of  F  major  for  his  sixth  symphony  because 
that  was  the  true  pastoral  key,  forgetting  the  im- 
portant fact  that  the  key  of  F  in  his  time  was  the 
same  as  the  key  of  E  in  our  own  days  of  higher 
pitch.  The  many  statements  about  definite  key- 
character  are  dangerous  half-truths,  and  even 
Berlioz's  table  is  far  too  fanciful  to  be  followed  in 
practical  music. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  17 

Pure  Tone 

It  is  not  sufficiently  understood'  that  what  is 
called  a  pure  or  a  good  tone  is  not  a  single  tone  at 
all,  but  a  mingling  of  one  tone  (the  fundamental) 
with  a  number  of  fainter,  higher  tones,  which  blend 
with  it  and  alter  its  quality.  A  tone  heard  quite 
alone  would  be  dull,  "muddy,"  and  lifeless.  The 
faint  overtones  which  form  above  it  and  blend  with 
it  are  what  form  the  quality  of  each  musical  tone. 
The  following  simple  experiment  may  be  made 
by  the  teacher  at  the  piano:  Press  down  small  g 
without  striking  it.  Now  strike  great  C  and  then 
lift  the  finger  from  it.  The  small  g  will  be  clearly 
heard,  showing  that  it  formed  part  of  the  funda- 
mental note  C.  Press  down  f,  e,  d,  c  sharp,  one 
by  one,  and  no  tone  will  be  heard  when  the  lower 
C  is  struck,  but  when  small  c  is  pressed  down  and 
the  C  an  octave  lower  struck,  there  will  again  be 
heard  the  clear,  sympathetic  tone,  showing  that  it 
formed  part  of  the  lower  C. 

If  the  overtones  are  clearly  present,  the  lower 
ones  full,  and  the  upper  ones  faint  but  clear,  a 
rich  mellow  tone  is  the  result.  If  the  upper  ones 
are  too  strong  the  tone  is  acid  and  thin.     On  the 


1 8  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

clearness  of  the  upper  overtones  depends  the  deh- 
cacy  of  the  tone.  The  viohn  or  the  voice  sounds 
dead  in  a  damp  atmosphere  because  the  air  is  too 
dense  to  vibrate  the  faint,  high  overtones,  and  these 
are,  therefore,  smothered  out.  The  same  result 
is  sometimes  found  on  the  reproductions  of  the 
phonograph.  A  baritone  or  tenor  voice  can  often 
be  excellently  reproduced,  v^hile  a  violin  tone 
or  a  sweet  soprano  voice,  which  depends  for  its 
quality  upon  the  high,  faint  overtones,  is  not  so 
successful,  the  record  not  taking  up  the  faintest 
overtones,  but  reproducing  the  stronger  ones 
only. 

Many  inventions  connected  with  this  matter  are 
now  on  the  eve  of  perfection.  One  may  mix  up 
a  pure  tone  (adding  the  best  proportion  of  over- 
tones) much  as  an  apothecary  would  mix  a  pre- 
scription. It  is  within  the  scope  of  possibility 
that  science  will  yet  go  so  far  as  to  be  able  to 
tabulate  the  proportion  of  overtones  in  any  tone 
and  thus  give  a  written  scientific  description  of 
the  voice  of  Caruso,  for  example,  that  could  be 
understood  and  actually  reproduced  centuries 
hence. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  19 

Pitch 
It  is  a  popular  error  to  suppose  that  ''absolute 
pitch,"  an  ability  to  recognize  and  name  any  note 
on  its  being  sounded,  is  a  certain  evidence  of  great 
ability  in  music.  It  certainly  implies  a  musical  ear, 
but  it  is  rather  a  special  use  of  memory  than  of 
musical  attainment.  The  blind  almost  always  have 
it  because  they  need  to  cultivate  it.  There  are 
several  eminent  composers  alive  at  present  who 
have  not  "absolute  pitch,"  and  there  are  some 
mediocre  musicians  who  have  it.  It  can  be  culti- 
vated by  sounding  a  tuning-fork  many  times  a  day 
and  humming  the  note  (A  or  C)  until  it  remains 
in  the  memory.  Other  notes  will  soon  follow  in 
its  train.  An  odd  point  in  connection  with  abso- 
lute pitch  is  that  it  sometimes  temporarily  deserts 
a  person  who  has  it.  Also,  in  employing  it,  the 
violinist  will  recognize  it  more  quickly  upon  the 
violin  than  upon  any  other  instrument,  the  oboist 
upon  the  oboe,  etc. 

Concert  Pitch 
Many  a  young  teacher  falls  into  the  error  of 
imagining  that  "concert  pitch"  must  be  the  proper 


20  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

standard  of  pitch  for  concert  music.  The  reverse 
is  true.  Concert  pitch  is  the  name  applied  to  any 
high  pitch  which  any  musical  instrument  manu- 
facturer may  choose  as  best  fitted  to  his  instru- 
ments, and  as  the  public  generally  like  the  pungent 
tone  of  a  high-pitched  instrument  best,  concert 
pitch  is  always  above  the  normal  pitch.  Every 
musician  should  work  to  establish  the  "Interna- 
tional Pitch"  of  435  vibrations  for  one-hned  A,  or 
5^ 7 A  vibrations  for  two-lined  C. 

Tablature 

Tablature  means  the  designating  of  definite 
notes  without  writing  them  in  notation.  The 
tablature  used  by  musicians  calls  the  lowest  octave 
(three  notes  only)  of  the  piano  the  "sub-contra," 
and  the  lowest  notes  of  this  instrument  "sub- 
contra  A,"  "sub-contra  B,"  etc.  The  next  octave 
(beginning  with  the  deepest  C)  is  the  "Contra" 
octave,  the  next  the  "Great"  octave,  the  next  the 
"Small"  octave.  Now,  beginning  with  middle  C 
we  start  the  "one-lined"  octave,  then  the  "two- 
lined,"  etc.  Here  there  enters  an  important  error 
that   has  been   perpetuated   in  several   excellent 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  21 

books.    The  musician  must  write  these  notes  as 

follows : 

Ex.1 


$ 


-^h- 


c       g       c       e 

or  c',  g',  c",  e",  but  never  thus,  c*,  gS  c\  e\ 
because  the  scientists,  the  acousticians,  have  a 
numeral  tablature  which  begins  at  great  C,  mark- 
ing the  above  notes  as  follows:  c',  g^,  c*,  e*. 
Therefore  we  must  never  mark  middle  c  as  c*,  or 
the  C  an  octave  higher  as  c^,  as  this  will  lead  to 
endless  confusion  with  the  scientific  nomenclature. 
Thus  the  tuning-forks  which  sound  A  will  be 
marked  by  the  scientists  a',  and  those  sounding  C 

Ex.2 


will  be  marked  c*.  This  error  is  taking  root  in 
America,  and  will  lead  to  great  confusion  unless 
corrected.      (See  "Elson's  Dictionary  of  Music") 

Sympathy  of  Vibrations.    Synchronism 
This  is  a  law  of  Nature  that  has  been  much  mis- 
understood by  those  who  have  not  studied  acous- 


22  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

tics.  Simply  stated,  it  means  that  if  an  object  is 
vibratory  and  the  exact  number  of  its  vibrations 
are  made  in  the  air,  near  to  it,  the  object  will  begin 
vibrating  and  sounding  without  having  been 
touched.  Many  a  teacher  has  had  practical  ex- 
perience of  synchronism  by  having  had  a  vase  or  a 
globe  begin  to  rattle  when  one  particular  note  is 
sounded  on  the  piano,  or  possibly  a  violin  string 
will  give  forth  its  note  under  the  same  circum- 
stances. The  author  once  had  a  peculiar  ex- 
perience of  synchronism.  He  was  singing  a  duet 
in  a  moderate-sized  room  (the  second  voice  being 
also  a  male  one)  in  which  a  high  F  was  taken 
fortissimo.  As  the  note  rang  out  a  globe  on 
the  gas-chandelier  above  the  singers  burst  into 
splinters  which  flew  all  over  the  room.  It  v/as 
a  clear  case  of  synchronism,  but  the  vibrations 
were  so  forcible  that  the  globe  could  not  sustain 
them. 

Something  similar  took  place  at  the  St.  Louis 
World's  Exposition  a  few  years  ago.  In  order  to 
show  the  popular  errors  in  this  matter  we  will 
first  quote  a  telegram  that  was  sent  to  the  largest 
papers  of  the  East  and  published  by  them: 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  23 

(St.  Louis  Special  to  the  New  York  Times.) 

"Musicians  and  architects  agreed  that  the  shat- 
tering of  the  glass  skylights  of  Festival  Hall  at  the 
World's  Fair  was  caused  by  the  vibratory  force 
from  harsh  notes  played  on  the  big  organ  by  some 
unskilled  musician,  though  they  are  not  inclined 
to  place  the  responsibility  for  the  accident  upon 
the  shoulders  of  Professor  W.  C.  Gale,  of  New- 
York,  who  was  playing  the  organ  when  the  glass 
fell. 

"Professor  L.  M.  French,  of  Chicago,  expressed 
the  sentiments  of  the  other  inquirers  into  the  cause 
of  the  accident  when  he  said  that  he  believed  the 
harsh  notes  had  been  struck  by  a  predecessor  of 
Professor  Gale,  so  loosening  the  glass  that  it  fell 
with  little  provocation." 

(Reprinted  in  The  Boston  Transcript  and  many 
other  newspapers.) 

Could  anything  be  more  ignorant  than  the  above ! 
Even  an  infant  or  a  blacksmith  cannot  play  "  harsh 
notes"  upon  a  well-tuned  organ.  When  the  stoj)s 
are  set  the  tone  resulting  is  always  the  same,  no 
matter  who  presses  down  the  key,  or  how  it  is 
pressed  down. 


24  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

"Harsh  notes,"  had  they  been  produced,  would 
not  have  disturbed  the  skyhght.  It  was  pure,  good 
and  resonant  tones,  full  and  regular  vibrations, 
that  caused  the  glass  to  vibrate  in  sympathy  (syn- 
chronism) and  brought  it  down  upon  the  heads  of 
the  audience. 

Newspaper  excursions  into  the  domain  of  acou- 
stics are  always  to  be  distrusted.  The  author 
once  saw,  in  a  large  and  influential  Western  paper, 
an  account  of  an  organ  pipe  that  would  not  speak 
until  the  organist  turned  all  the  blasts  of  air  from 
the  wind-chest  into  that  particular  pipe,  and  then — 
bang! — a  mouse  and  her  young  ones,  who  had 
made  a  nest  in  the  pipe,  were  blown  up  to  the  ceil- 
ing, and  the  silent  pipe  spoke  again!  Organists 
will  at  once  recognize  the  absurdity  of  all  this.  One 
cannot  concentrate  the  full  force  of  the  bellows  on 
one  pipe,  and  there  is  never  a  current  of  air  rush- 
ing through  any  organ  pipe.  It  is  again  one  of  the 
mistakes  of  the  ignorant. 

The  miracle  of  the  Walls  of  Jericho  may  have 
been  but  a  Scriptural  version  of  another  phase  of 
synchronism. 


Mistakes  in  Acoustics  25 

Architectural  Acoustics 
"A  good  music  hall  should  in  itself  be  a  musical 
instrument,"  said  Berlioz,  and  this  remark  was 
much  more  scientific  than  his  schedule  of  the  emo- 
tions of  keys  given  above.  It  is  a  popular  error, 
sometimes  echoed  by  college  professors,  that  we  un- 
derstand the  chief  points  of  synchronism  and  re- 
flection of  sound  as  applied  to  halls.  The  wish  is 
father  to  the  thought  in  this  case,  for  there  are 
more  poor  halls  than  good  ones,  even  in  the  most 
modern  edifices.  Here  are  a  few  of  the  accidents, 
some  happy  and  some  the  reverse,  of  architectural 
acoustics : 

Salt  Lake  Tabernacle  is  a  miracle  of  excellent 
reflection  and  synchronism.  Sayles  Memorial 
Hall,  in  Providence,  is  the  opposite.  The  Brattle 
Street  Society's  new  church  in  Boston  was  sold  at 
a  nominal  sum  because  the  rumbling  echoes  made 
religious  services  in  it  impossible.  It  has  since 
been  partially  rebuilt  and  is  now  in  use,  the  echoes 
having  disappeared  with  the  remodeling.  The  old 
Music  Hall  in  Boston  would  sound  a  clear  C  sharp 
in  response  to  the  sounding  of  great  A — one  of  the 
overtones.     Whispering  galleries,  where  sound  is 


26  Mistakes  in  Acoustics 

reflected  to  a  great  distance,  are  constantly  being 
discovered  in  circular  and  dome-shaped  halls. 
When  the  laws  of  synchronism  are  fully  discovered 
we  shall  be  able  to  demolish  buildings  or  throw 
down  bridges  by  the  sounding  of  a  single  tone,  not 
necessarily  very  loud,  but  continuous. 


CHAPTER  II 

ORCHESTRAL  ERRORS 

Compass  of  Orchestra 
We  have  already  stated  that  the  compass  of 
the  orchestra  is  not  so  great  as  that  of  the  piano. 
In  an  ordinary  score  the  contrabass  would  sound 
contra  E  as  the  deepest  note  of  the  band,  while 
the  violins  would  seldom  be  pushed  as  high  as 
four-lined  E  even  in  the  highest  passages.  The 
piccolo  might  possible  go  a  few  notes  higher, 
but  this  would  be  exceptional.  The  highest  A 
of  the  piano  is  the  highest  note  that  we  can 
recall  having  seen  in  any  score,  this  being  given 
on  the  piccolo.  In  Beethoven's  day  the  violin- 
ists rebelled  against  even  four-lined  c  ^  ^^ 
which  he  used  in  the  "Egmont  Over-  t 
ture."  i 


^ 


On  a  large  organ  higher  and  lower  notes  than 
those  of  the  largest  piano  occur.  The  deepest 
note,  the  C  an  octave  below  the  deepest  C  of  the 
piano,  would    require   an  open  pipe  32  feet  long, 


27 


28  Orchestral  Errors 

or  a  pipe  stopped  at  the  end,  i6  feet  long,  to  pro- 
duce it.  The  very  highest  notes  (going  an  octave 
higher  than  the  piano)  v^^ould  require  pipes  some- 
times scarcely  longer  than  one's  finger-nail.  But 
the  tones  of  these  are  never  heard.  They  are 
blended  with  the  sound  of  larger  pipes  and  thus 
form  over-tones  to  deeper  tones,  changing  their 
quality. 

No  instrument  that  can  be  added  to  an  orchestra 
will  carry  it  higher  than  the  highest  tones  of  the 
piccolo  or  the  highest  harmonics  of  the  violins, 
but  some  instruments  may  carry  it  lower  than  the 
contrabasses.  Thus  five-stringed  contrabasses 
exist  which  can  sound  the  lowest  C  of  the  piano. 
Contrabassoons  sound  the  lowest  B-flat  and  harps 
the  lowest  C-flat. 

Orchestral  Keys 
These  are  always  best  if  near  to  F  major,  B- 
flat  major,  or  C  major,  or  their  relative  minors. 
Keys  such  as  B  major,  or  D-flat  major,  and  their 
minors,  are  almost  impossible  for  a  long  orchestral 
work.  The  oboes  become  more  and  more  difficult 
as  they  go  further  from  the  key  of  C.    The  horns 


Orchestral  Errors  29 

used  to-day  are  best  and  easiest  in  the  key  of  F. 
The  EngHsh  horn  is  best  in  the  same  key.  Trom- 
bones sound  well  in  B-flat  major.  This  may 
account  for  the  fact  that  transcriptions  for  or- 
chestra, made  from  piano  works,  as  for  example j 
Liszt's  Rhapsodies,  often  change  key  in  the  process 
of  transference.  Only  the  harp  can  go  into  very 
difficult  keys  in  the  fiat  direction,  and  sounds  best 
of  all  in  the  key  of  C-fiat  major,  the  scale  of  seven 
flats. 

Scale  Forms  and  Modulations 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  our  diatonic  scales, 
major  and  minor,  and  our  chromatic  scale,  form 
the  only  basis  of  modern  music.  This  is  by  no 
means  the  case.  Just  as  there  are  different 
languages  in  existence,  so  there  are  different  scales 
among  the  many  nations,  to  express  their  musical 
language.  Perhaps  the  oldest  and  most  primitive 
that  is  employed  to-day  is  heard  both  in  Chinese 
and  Scottish  music.  It  is  the  Pentatonic  or  five- 
noted  scale.     It  nms  as  follows: 


^m 


s 


30 


Orchestral  Errors 


"Auld  Lang  Syne,"  "Bonnie  Doon,"  and  many 
other  beloved  melodies  are  in  this  form.  Other 
scales  in  use  to-day  are  as  follows: 

The  hexachordal  scale,  much  used  about  the 
year  looo,  and  many  modern  folksongs  (''Loch 
Lomond,"  for  example)  are  built  in  this  mode: 


i  J  ^  '^ 


The  Byzantine  scale,  much  used  in  the  Eastern 
church  music.  See  Hatherly's  interesting  volume 
on  "Byzantine  Music": 


^  J  J  J  ^  ^  '^^  - 


this  sometimes  leads  to  very  odd  signatures,  as 


E 


or 


in  which  some  of  the  printed  music  is  given. 
The  Hungarian  Gypsy  Scale,  which  is  the  most 
doleful  minor  of  all.     It  has  been  used  by  Liszt 


Orchestral  Errors 


31 


in  some  of  his  Hungarian  music  and  by  Paderewski 
in  his  opera  of  "Manru": 


i 


^^ 


All  of  the  above  scales  may  appear  in  vocal  or 
instrumental  music,  and  they  are  beginning  to  be 
copious  in  modern  orchestral  works. 

Debussy  has  also  used  many  progressions  in  a 
scale-form  of  six  whole  tones  to  the  octave.  This 
would  be  as  follows: 


.^  J  J  J  tj  tfJ  i 


The  Siamese  use  a  scale  similar  to  the  above. 


Gregorian  Tones 

Although  these  are  more  often  found  in  vocal 
than  in  orchestral  music,  it  may  be  best  to  include 
them  here.  They  are  of  mediaeval  or  premediaeval 
origin,  and  each  scale  (as  with  the  above  examples) 
represents  a  mode,  that  is,  a  certain  difTercnce  in 


32 


Orchestral  Errors 


the   succession   of   intervals.    They   are   derived 
from  ancient  Greek  music,  and  are  £ls  follows: 
Ist  tone  (or  mode)  ^ 


5ff 


§ 


-o- 


8rd  tone 


5th  tone" 


m 


7th  tone 


w=w 


#-# 


g 


PC* 


^ 


aii 


#-# 


^ 


The  above  are  called  "authentic,"  as  they  have 
the  keynote  at  the  beginning  and  end.  But  in  the 
following  the  keynote  is  in  the  centre  of  the  scale: 


PLAGAL  MODES 


2d  tone 


^):     I  J  J 


4th  tone 


^m 


XE 


1»=^ 


m  P 


Orchestral  Errors 

6th  tone 


33 


^ 


W 


-o- 


g 


8th  tone 


^m 


XE 


^ 


If  the  student  will  examine  the  melody  of  "Scots 
Wha  Hae,"  he  will  find  a  mode  in  which  the  key- 
note is  not  at  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  scale. 

The  mistakes  that  are  made  in  the  usage  of  these 
old  scales,  and  in  the  national  ones  quoted  above, 
are  many,  and  often  a  teacher  will  place  a  false  ac- 
cidental in  the  music  under  the  impression  that 
a  misprint  has  been  made.  More  than  this, 
composers,  editors,  and  music  proof-readers  com- 
mit copious  errors  in  this  matter.  It  is  rare,  for 
example,  to  find  a  correct  edition  of  "  John  Ander- 
son, my  Jo,"  and  the  cadence,  which  contains  a 
flat  seventh  (as  in  the  7th  Gregorian  tone),  is  al- 
most always  misprinted. 

Size  of  Orchestra 
It  is  a  popular  error  to  suppose  that  the  size  of 
the  orchestra  is  one  of  the  chief  points  in  great 


34  Orchestral  Errors 

compositions.  The  greater  the  size  of  the  band 
the  less  likelihood  there  is  of  perfect  shading,  good 
attack,  and  general  unity.  These  things  are 
generally  understood  by  the  word  "ensemble^^^ 
and  the  larger  the  orchestra,  beyond  a  certain  point, 
the  poorer  the  ensemble.  The  Germans  have 
investigated  this  point  thoroughly  and  their  ideal 
of  orchestral  music  would  be  about  loo  men  heard 
in  a  small  hall.  Our  concert  halls  are  generally 
too  large  to  attain  the  ideal  result.  Wagner 
studied  this  problem  most  carefully,  with  the 
result  that  his  opera-house  at  Bayreuth  is  about 
half  the  size  of  most  of  our  theatres  and  his  or- 
chestra does  not  exceed  ii6  men  in  his  heaviest 
scores. 

Transposing  Instruments 

If  a  young  student  were  to  look  at  a  large 
orchestral  score  in  the  key  of  G  major  he  would 
find  the  majority  of  the  instruments  written  in 
that  key,  but  he  might  also  find  some  in  the  signa- 
ture of  B-flat,  some  in  C,  some  in  D,  etc.  He 
must,  therefore,  remember  that  many  instruments 
do  not  sound  as  they  are  written.     The  A  clari- 


Orchestral  Errors  35 

nette,  in  the  above  score,  would  sound  a  minor 
third  deeper  than  written,  the  horns  a  fourth 
deeper,  the  English  horn  a  fifth  deeper,  etc.  This 
would  bring  them  all  into  the  key  of  G,  and,  of 
course,  all  the  instruments  sound  in  the  same  key. 
The  reason  of  most  of  these  transpositions  is  to 
give  an  easier  execution  and  a  uniformity  of 
fingering  to  the  artist.  At  the  present  time,  how- 
ever, the  orchestral  players  have  attained  such  a 
technique  that  they  do  many  things  that  were  al- 
most impossible  to  the  musicians  of  Beethoven's 
time,  and  the  transposing  sometimes  bothers  rather 
than  helps  them.  Some  composers  have  begun 
to  write  the  horns  as  they  actually  sound,  and 
there  is  a  possibility  that  in  the  years  to  come  the 
transpositions  of  the  orchestral  score  will  wholly 
vanish. 

Catgut 

Although  this  word  is  constantly  used  in  describ- 
ing the  strings  of  the  violins,  violas,  harps,  viol- 
oncellos, and  contrabasses,  the  cat  is  entirely  in- 
nocent of  musical  sins  in  this  direction,  since  cat- 
gut is  never  used.  The  heavier  strings  are  made 
of  the  intestines  of  the  sheep,  while  the  finer  and 


36  Orchestral  Errors 

lighter  ones  are  made  from  the  goat  or  kid.  Some- 
times, to  avoid  the  chance  of  snapping  asunder, 
the  E  string  of  the  viohn  is  made  of  silk. 

Improvement  by  Age  in  Violins 
Although  age  does  improve  a  violin  somewhat, 
because  it  dries  the  wood  more  thoroughly,  the 
real  improvement  in  good  instruments  does  not 
come  by  age  alone,  but  by  being  well  played  upon. 
When  good  tones  are  produced  from  a  violin  the 
sounding-boards  (both  front-board  and  back, 
although  chiefly  the  former)  are  vibrating  in 
symmetrical  figures.  A  constant  subjection  to 
such  vibrations  causes  the  fibre  of  the  wood  to 
become  equally  elastic  and  to  take  up  such  vibra- 
tions with  more  amplitude  and  sensitiveness  than 
in  a  new  instrument. 

Material  of  Wind  Instruivients 
There  is  a  popular  error,  in  which  many  musi- 
cians join,  that  the  precious  metals  enhance  the 
beauty  of  a  musical  tone.  This  is  an  utter  fallacy. 
If  piano-strings  were  made  of  gold  they  would 
sound  about  as  if  of  lead.    A  bell  made  of  pure 


Orchestral  Errors  37 

gold  would  resound  about  as  much  as  a  bell  made 
of  pure  cheese.  But  when  employed  in  a  "wood- 
wind" instrument  the  use  of  silver  as  against 
wood  may  have  some  advantages.  A  silver  flute 
is  said  to  speak  a  little  quicker  and  blow  a  trifle 
easier  than  a  wooden  one,  and,  of  course,  will 
stand  no  danger  of  cracking  by  heat  or  cold.  But 
the  belief  that  a  silver  cornet  sounds  better  than  a 
brass  one  has  no  scientific  foundation.  A  manu- 
facturer in  England  tried  to  dispel  this  error  by 
making  three  cornets,  one  of  silver,  one  of  brass, 
and  one  of  papier  mache  (pasteboard),  with  the 
result  that  it  was  impossible,  when  blindfolded, 
to  tell  which  one  was  being  played, — yet  the  mis- 
take still  survives. 

Slide  and  Valve  Trombone 
The  supposition  that  these  sound  alike  is 
false.  The  slide  trombone,  because  of  its  fewer 
bends,  will  always  give  a  better  tone  than  the 
valve  trombone.  The  present  writer,  when  as- 
sociated with  Georg  Hcnschel  as  judge  in  the 
musical  department  in  one  of  the  great  fairs  of 
the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanics  Associa- 


38  Orchestral  Errors 

tion,  years  ago,  had  occasion  to  put  this  to  a 
practical  test.  Both  judges  were  able,  from 
another  room,  to  detect  the  superiority  of  the 
tone  of  the  slide  trombone. 

Conducting  with  Baton 
It  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  the  older  orchestral 
works  were  directed  in  the  manner  that  is  used  to- 
day, by  baton.  The  story  of  orchestral  direction 
may  be  very  briefly  stated  as  follows:  In  Bach 
and  Handel's  time  the  conductor  led  either  at 
the  harpsichord  or  organ.  In  Mozart  and  Haydn's 
day  he  generally  played  the  violin  and  tapped  his 
music  stand  to  hold  the  men  together  in  difficult 
passages.  The  baton  was  not  used  earher  than 
1 801  in  Germany.  Godfrey  Weber  pleaded  for 
its  use  in  1807,  but  found  little  response  to  his 
appeal.  Mosel  used  it  in  Vienna  in  181 2.  Carl 
Maria  Von  Weber  employed  it  in  Dresden  in  181 7, 
and  Spohr  in  London  in  1820.  As  late  as  1835 
there  was  a  derisive  article  printed  in  England 
against  its  use.  The  baton  of  Weber  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  Svendsen,  the  Norwegian  com- 
poser.    It  is  much  longer  and  heavier  than  those 


Orchestral  Errors  39 

in  use  at  present  and  much  resembles  a  gigantic 
policeman's  club. 

Violoncello 
This  word  is  often  misprinted  "Violincello." 
This  would  make  nonsense  of  it,  for  "cello"  is  a 
diminutive  and  " violincello "  would  mean  "the 
little  violin."  The  root  of  the  word  is  "Violone," 
which  was  a  species  of  contrabass,  the  violoncello 
being  a  smaller  instrument  of  this  species. 

Composers  as  Conductors 

It  is  a  popular  fallacy  to  imagine  that  great  com- 
posers are  usually  the  best  conductors.  Indeed, 
the  reverse  is  generally  the  case.  Schumann, 
Liszt,  and  Brahms  were  but  mediocre  in  this 
field.  So  strongly  did  Richter  feel  that  the  two 
careers  were  dissimilar,  that,  when  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  put  all  his  energy  into  becoming  a  great 
conductor,  he  placed  all  his  compositions  in  a 
stove,  lit  them,  and  prepared  a  pot  of  coffee  over 
the  bonfire.  That  cup  of  coffee  was  the  boundary 
line  between  his  composition  and  his  conducting. 
Yet  Berlioz,  Wagner,  and  Richard  Strauss  have 


40  Orchestral  Errors 

proved  that  it  is  possible  to  unite  the  two  careers. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  not  often  done. 

Obbligato 
This  word  is  very  frequently  misprinted  "Obli- 

gato." 

Conductors  as  Performers 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  great  conductor 
must  himself  be  a  great  performer.  He  must  un- 
derstand the  capabilities  of  every  instrument,  but 
he  need  not  actually  play  any  of  them.  Wagner 
could  play  only  the  piano,  and  that  but  passably. 
Berlioz  played  no  instrument  except  the  guitar. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  a  decided  help  to  the  conductor 
if  he  is  a  good  pianist.  Of  conductors  in  America, 
Paur  (now  in  Europe)  plays  both  piano  and  violin 
excellently;  Fiedler  is  a  fine  pianist;  Damrosch 
is  also  expert  at  the  piano.  In  Europe,  Strauss 
plays  the  piano,  which  he  began  to  study  when 
he  was  four  years  old;  Richter  was  one  of  the 
best  horn  players  in  the  world. 

Works  on  Instrumentation 
There  are  some  dangerous  pitfalls  in  this  field. 
The  student  must  remember  that  the  orchestra 


Orchestral  Errors  41 

does  not  stand  still,  but  changes  from  epoch  to 
epoch.  An  old-fashioned  book  on  Instrumenta- 
tion might  lead  one  into  many  errors.  Berlioz 
wrote  a  most  important  treatise  upon  this  subject. 
In  its  time  it  was  the  best  in  the  world.  But  an 
unrevised  copy  might  lead  the  student  into  several 
errors.  The  trombones  are  spoken  of  as  trans- 
posing instruments,  the  chalumeau  of  the  clari- 
nette  is  given  wrongly,  etc.  Even  the  notation 
of  scores  is  different  now  from  what  it  was  in  the 
time  of  Schumann.  In  his  early  days  he  wrote 
the  brasses  at  the  top  of  the  page,  with  the  kettle- 
drums on  the  top  line.  To-day  these  are  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  page.  The  most  modem 
treatises  are  requisite  to  keep  up  with  orchestral 
changes.  Richard  Strauss  has  revised  the  Berlioz 
work  above  mentioned  and,  of  course,  his  edition 
is  quite  up  to  date. 

Symphony 

It  may  puzzle  the  student  to  find  a  "Pastoral 

Symphony"  one  page  long  in  Handel's  "Messiah," 

and  one  but  slightly  longer  in  Bach's  "Christmas 

Oratorio."     Let  it  be  remembered,  therefore,  that 


42  Orchestral  Errors 

the  word  "Symphony,"  before  Haydn,  meant  a 
prelude,  postlude,  or  interlude.  The  student  will 
sometimes  find  it  used  in  this  sense  in  English 
songs  of  fairly  recent  date  and  in  many  old  Ameri- 
can song-books.  Bach  published  his  "Three-part 
Inventions"  under  the  title  of  "Symphonies." 
After  the  time  of  Haydn  a  "Symphony"  meant  a 
sonata  for  orchestra. 

Clarionet 

This  spelling  is  old  fashioned.  The  word  should 
be  spelled  "Clarinet"  or  "Clarinette."  It  may 
be  well  also  to  remember  that  Bach  did  not  use 
the  clarinette,  nor  did  Handel,  save  in  one  obsolete 
opera.  Yet  there  are  clarinette  passages  in  many 
of  their  works.  These  have  always  been  added 
by  some  editor.  The  beautiful  clarinette  pas- 
sages in  "The  Messiah"  (note  especially  "The 
People  that  walked  in  Darkness")  were  added  by 
Mozart. 

Beating  Time 

Young  conductors  frequently  make  the  mistake 
of  trying  to  give  the  number  of  beats  in  a  measure 
that  is  called  for  by  the  numerator  of  the  rhythmic 


Orchestral  Errors  43 

figures  defining  the  movement.  This  is  fre- 
quently quite  wrong.  In  f  rhythm,  for  example, 
if  very  slow,  or  very  complicated,  three  beats  may 
be  given  to  each  measure,  but  down,  right,  up 
(not  down,  left,  up),  as  this  takes  the  baton  away 
from  the  body  in  the  second  beat,  and  is,  therefore, 
more  easily  followed  by  the  musicians.  But  often 
it  will  be  found  better  to  beat  two  in  a  measure, 
down  for  the  first  two  beats  and  up  for  the  third. 
There  is  often  a  slight  natural  accent  on  the  third 
beat  in  |  rhythm,  and  this  brings  it  out  clearly. 
Very  often  a  rapid,  or  even  a  moderately  quick, 
I  rhythm  receives  only  one  beat  to  the  measure, 
a  down  beat  to  the  first  and  an  up  beat  to  the 
second.  More  of  this  will  be  explained  in  the 
chapter  on  Accents;  f  is  generally  counted  by 
two  beats  and  -^  by  four. 


CHAPTER  III 

MISTAKES  IN  TEACHING  POINTS 

American  Fingering 
This  is  not  American  at  all.  It  did  not  originate 
in  the  United  States  and  it  is  at  present  but  little 
used  here.  It  is  chiefly  employed  in  England, 
where  it  had  a  very  early  origin.  The  earliest 
harpsichord  and  spinet  fingering  came  from  the 
fingering  used  upon  the  violin,  where,  as  the  thumb 
is  never  used,  the  fingers  are  marked  i,  2,  3,  4. 
In  the  early  days  of  piano  playing  (harpsichord, 
spinet,  and  clavichord)  the  thumb  was  not  used, 
and  the  above  fingering  was,  therefore,  found  quite 
practical.  When  the  thumb  gradually  came  into 
use  it  was  marked  with  a  cipher,  thus — o,  i,  2,  3,  4. 
The  present  writer  has  much  old  music  thus 
fingered ;  but  there  was  some  danger  of  mistaking 
the  "o"  for  a  whole  note;  therefore,  in  England  a 
character  made  thus  J^  was  substituted,  the  finger- 
ing running  thus,  J^i  i,  2,  3,  4.  As  all  the  above 
instruments,  except  the  clavichord,  were  staccato 


44 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       45 

in  their  action,  there  was  very  Httle  attention  to 
any  care  of  fingering.  The  thumb  mark  J^  was 
finally  changed  to  +. 

Language  of  Musical  Terms 

A  few  celebrated  composers  have  led  many  into 
the  erroneous  idea  that  a  composer  ought  to  use 
his  own  language  for  tempo  marks  and  words  of 
expression.  Wagner  and  Schumann  have  used 
German;  Berlioz  and  D'Indy  have  used  French; 
MacDowell  has  employed  English.  The  idea 
seems  patriotic,  but  it  is  nevertheless  an  error.  If 
it  were  pursued  to  its  logical  conclusion  we  should 
have  had  Rubinstein  using  Roumanian;  Dvorak, 
Bohemian;  Tschaikowsky,  Russian;  Grieg,  Nor- 
wegian; Liszt,  Hungarian,  etc.  Musical  notation 
is  international.  A  composition  written  in  New 
York  could  be  read  in  Russia,  Greece,  Chile, 
Japan,  and  many  other  nations,  but  if  the  word 
''Sweetly"  were  attached  to  it,  very  few  in  the 
above-mentioned  nations  could  understand  what 
it  meant.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  were  marked 
"Dolce,"  competent  musicians  in  every  country 
would  comprehend  it.     To  an  international  Ian- 


46       Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points 

guage,  such  as  notation,  one  language  only  should 
be  attached,  and  since  Italian  has  the  precedence, 
having  begun  with  the  opera,  about  1600,  and  is 
almost  universally  employed,  it  should  finally  be 
accepted  as  the  only  language  for  musical  terms 
or  tempo  marks.  An  implied  confession  of  this 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that  in  many  works  where 
English  or  German  terms  have  been  much  em- 
ployed it  has  been  found  best  to  add  an  Italian 
translation  of  the  words.  See  some  of  the  larger 
works  of  Schumann  or  MacDowell  for  instances 
of  this  addition. 

Pedaling 

There  are  a  few  mistakes  made  in  the  applica- 
tion of  the  words  and  signs  here.  Of  course  every 
musician  will  understand  the  ordinary  "Ped." 
and  *,  but  occasionally  the  Germans  substitute  ^ 
for  the  usual  star  of  discontinuance.  A  more 
confusing  use  of  the  mark  for  the  damper  pedal 
has  been  occasionally  employed  by  a  few  composers. 
As  pressing  down  this  pedal  lifts  the  dampers  from 
the  wires  "Senza  Sordine*^  ("without  dampers") 
would  mean  with  the  damper  pedal,  while  "Con 
Sordinc^^  would  mean  "with  the  dampers,"  and 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       47 

therefore  without  the  pedal.  It  is  best  not  to  use 
this  vague  method  of  marking,  which  often  confuses 
young  students.  It  originated  with  Beethoven  (see 
his  marks  at  the  beginning  of  the  "Moonhght 
Sonata,"  Op.  27,  No.  2)  and  has  been  copied  by  a 
few  later  German  composers.  If  the  teacher  will 
consult  D 'Albert's  edition  of  the  above  sonata 
(Ditson  ed.)  he  will  find  by  the  first  foot-note 
that  this  great  pianist  has  not  comprehended 
the  meaning  of  Beethoven's  "  Senza  Sordine." 

Of  course  it  is  an  error  to  call  the  damper  pedal 
the  "Loud"  pedal.  It  does  incidentally  make  the 
music  louder,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  used  for  that 
purpose.  To  counteract  this  false  impression  it 
would  be  well  for  the  teacher,  when  first  allowing 
the  pupil  to  use  the  damper  pedal,  to  choose  a 
composition  that  is  chiefly  piano  or  pianissimo. 

An  excellent  marking  for  the  damper  pedal  is 
that  now  being  introduced,  in  which  the  sign 
L,,.----'  *  is  used.  This  is  far  more  definite 
than  "Ped."  and  *'  *"  and  it  can  denote  exactly 
to  a  sixteenth  or  thirty-second  note  where  the 
pedal  is  to  be  put  down  or  released 

An  absolutely  definite  but  far  more  cumbersome 


48       Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points 

method  of  marking  the  damper  pedal  is  to  notate  it 
upon  a  single  line  placed  below  the  piano  notation. 
This  is  chiefly  used  for  pedal  studies  which  are  in- 
tended to  teach  absolute  exactness  in  the  use  of  the 
damper  pedal. 


$ 


ftrf: 


^^ 


^ 


is 


:?=J3 


rn^^r^^ 


3^ 


M. 


s 


r?=p 


i 


j^^ — ^^ 


Fed. 


Fed. 


Fed. 


(i 


Ei 


s 


=.55^ 


'J- 


Fed. 


Trills 

There  is  a  decided  difference  of  opinion  about 
the  execution  of   trills.     In  the  i8th  century  it 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       49 

was  customary  to  begin  the  trill  upon  the  upper, 
or  auxiliary,  note.  Philipp  Emanuel  Bach,  in  his 
"Versuch  uber  die  wahre  Art  das  Clavier  zu 
spielen"  (the  first  useful  book  on  piano  tech- 
nique, published  in  1752),  and  Leopold  Mozart, 
in  his  violin  school,  both  agree  in  beginning 
trills  upon  the  upper  note.  But  Hummel,  in 
his  piano  method,  'published  in  the  early  part 
of  the  19th  century,  teaches  it  as  beginning  and 
ending  upon  the  principal  note.  Carl  Czerny 
followed  this  view  and  it  was  quite  universally 
established,  when  Von  Biilow  advocated  return- 
ing to  the  older  method,  which  he  considered 
the  better.  In  all  the  Biilow  editions,  therefore, 
the  student  will  find  the  trills  clearly  indicated 
as  beginning  upon  the  upper  note.  Naturally, 
many  eminent  teachers  have  followed  Von 
Billow's  lead.  Yet  there  are  many  also  who 
hold  to  beginning  almost  all  trills  upon  the 
principal  note.  Good  authorities  can  be  cited 
for  either  mode.  For  more  detailed  information 
upon  this  topic  and  that  of  turns,  see  Elson's 
Dictionary  of  Music. 


56       Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points 


Misprinted  Turns 
A  turn  over  and  a  turn  ajter  a  note  means  two 
wholly  different  things.  Yet  there  are  many  mis- 
prints in  this  matter,  against  which  the  young 
teacher  should  be  warned.  In  some  editions  of 
Haydn's  sonatas  there  are  several  turns  printed 
over  notes  which  are  intended  to  be  played  ajter 
them,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  errors  come 
directly  from  the  composer  himself.  In  many 
Italian  songs  and  vocalises  there  is  carelessness  in 
this  matter,  the  composer  supposing  that  the  taste  of 
the  singer  will  guide  him  even  if  the  notation  of  turns 
is  vague  or  incorrect.  One  misprint,  or  error,  is, 
however,  so  constantly  made  that  it  deserves 
especial  notice  here.  Very  frequently  the  turn  is 
written  over  a  short,  dotted  eighth  note,  followed  by 
a  sixteenth  note,  where  it  is  intended  to  be  played 
after  it.    The  following  examples  will  illustrate  this : 

Incorrect.  Correct. 


g 


^ 


4'~gL 


s 


?g: 


1^ 


Played  in  either  case. 


?SEt 


KS 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       51 

The  same  error  is  frequent  with  a  dotted  six- 
teenth note  followed  by  a  thirty-second  note,  thus: 


m 


m 


Nomenclature  of  Mordents 
There  are  two  distinct  usages  in  naming  mor- 
dents. Let  us  first  understand  that  the  word  is 
derived  from  the  French  word  Mordre  (to  bite). 
It  is,  therefore,  an  embellishment  that  is  bitten  off 
short.    The  Germans   always  call   the  following 


!       '■  a  Mordent,  and  this  embellishment 


a   Praller,   or   sometimes    a   Prall    Trill.     Some 
maintain    that    the    Prall    Trill   should    not    be 


this^^H,  but  this 


The  German  cus- 

tom  of  calling  the  following      ;         a  Mordent  is 

not  logical,  for  the  vertical  line  is  always  a  sign  of 
inversion  in  embellishments;  therefore,  if  the  fol- 
lowing -v^  is  a  Praller,  this  -^v^  should  be  called 
an  inverted  Praller. 

Other  Germans  make  a  further  distinction  and 


52       Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points 

call  this  --^  a  Frailer  only  if  the  accent  is  on  the 
first  note,  while  if  the  accent  falls  on  the  third  note 
of  the  embellishment  they  call  it  a  Schnellcr.  We 
very  rarely  dare  suggest  a  change  in  established 
terms,  but  in  this  case  if  this  '^^  were  called 
the  "Upward  Mordent,"  and  this  ^v  the  "Down- 
ward Mordent,"  we  believe  that  less  confusion 
would  result. 

Appoggiatura  and  Acciaccatura 

These  had  better  be  called  the  "Long  Grace 
Note"  and  the  "Short  Grace  Note,"  respectively. 
Some  English  works  make  the  mistake  of  calling 

this  |r^  [^         the  "Long  Appoggiatura,"  N'hichis 


I 
tautology,  and  this  p    T^    1]  ^^^  "Short  Appog- 

! 

giatura,"  w^hich  is  wrong.  Appoggiare  means  "to 
lean,"  Appoggiatura,  "leaning  against,"  and  the 
long  grace  note  really  leans  over  into  the  next  note. 
Acciaccare  means  "to  squash,"  and  the  short  grace 
note  is  literally  "squashed"  into  the  next. 

More  important  than  these  misnomers  is  the  fact 
that  there  are  thousands  of  misprints  of  the  notes 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       53 
themselves.    The  most  usual  error  is  to  find  the 

long  grace  note  ~^z^--  \  turned  into  a  short  grace 
note  Y^fy — :  by  the  carelessness  or  ignorance  of 

the  typographer.  No  further  rule  can  be  given  to 
detect  these  numerous  misprints  than  the  following: 
The  long  grace  note  is  yearning,  tender,  or  sorrow- 
ful. The  short  grace  note  is  almost  always  crisp, 
bright,  and  snappy.  Yet  the  short  grace  note  may 
sometimes  appear,  in  very  sorrowful  music,  to 
give  the  effect  of  a  sob.  It  is  thus  used  in  the 
prison  scene  of  *T1  Trovatore."  Because  of  the 
countless  errors  made  with  these  two  kinds  of 
grace  notes  it  has  become  the  custom  to  write  the 
long  grace  note  out  in  full  notation  in  modern 
editions. 

Another  dangerous  half-truth  in  connection  with 
the  long  grace  note  is  the  fact  that  some  teachers 
make  it  a  rule  to  give  the  small  note  its  face  value. 
This  is  generally  correct,  but  by  no  means  always. 
It  was  practically  correct  in  tlie  eighteenth  century 
editions,  but  is  not  to-day.  It  is  often  permissible 
to  make  the  long  grace  note  longer  than  its  face 


54       Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points 

value,  but  not  shorter.  In  violin  or  vocal  music, 
if  the  note  following  the  principal  note  is  of  the 
same  pitch,  let  the  grace  note  take  almost  the 
entire  value  of  the  note  it  precedes,  making  a  strong 
portamento  to  the  next  note,  thus: 


3E 


2ZL 


^ 


i 


s 


£ 


Some  teachers  make  the  mistake  of  taking  the 
value  of  the  short  grace  note  from  the  value  of  the 
preceding  note.     It  should  take  its  value  from  the 


note  succeeding  it. 


AppoGGiATimA  IN  Recitative 
In  vocal  recitative  it  is  often  desirable  to  intro- 
duce an  appoggiatura,  or  long  grace  note,  where 


Mistakes  in  Teaching  Points       55 


none  is  written.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in 
Italian  opera.  The  rule,  briefly  stated,  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

When  an  accented  note  is  followed  by  a  note  of 
the  same  pitch  it  is  usual  to  make  an  appoggiatura 
from  above  and  let  the  note  itself  disappear.  The 
following  example  may  show  this: 


i 


Ki 


5 


B3 


-A— t 


\— N— N- 


efcc 


5^ 


H^ 


Our     coun  -  try !  the  bod  -  y      of  which  we're  mem-bers. 
Sung.  etc. 


of  which  we're  mem-bers. 


Our     coun  -  try !  the  bod  -  y 

Examine  the  prayer  scene  from  "Dcr  Frei- 
schiitz"  and  several  examples  of  this  usage  will  be 
found. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ACCENTS,   NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL 

Natural  Accents,  f  Rhythm 
In  speaking  of  orchestral  conducting  we  have 
described  some  portion  of  natural  accents.  There 
is  one  mistake,  however,  that  should  be  especially 
noted.  Many  compositions  which  are  written  in 
I  rhythm  (especially  in  quick  tempi)  are  in  reality 
f.  With  waltzes  this  is  almost  invariably  the  case. 
Almost  every  waltz,  although  marked  f,  should 
receive  a  strong  accent  on  the  first  beat  of  the  first 
measure  and  a  light  accent  on  the  first  beat  of  the 
second,  thus  making  it  a  f  rhythm.  INIany  of 
Beethoven's  Scherzo  movements,  which  have  the 
f  mark,  should  be  played  as  J.  For  example,  the 
Scherzo  movements  of  the  piano  sonatas  Op.  26, 
27,  No  2,  and  28,  should  be  thus  played.  Germer, 
in  his  edition,  has  actually  indicated  this  by  adding 
"f"  to  the  composer's  own  marking,  and  by 
running  the  bar-line  across  the  two  staves  only  at 

every  second  measure. 

56 


Accents  57 

Artificial  Accents 
The  following  mark  >  does  not  indicate  abso- 
lute loudness,  but  shows  that  the  note  or  chord  to 
which  it  is  attached  is  to  be  louder  than  the  sur- 
rounding ones.  There  is  no  difference  between 
>  and  A  unless  used  together,  when  A  would 
be  the  louder  accent. 

Use  of  Rf  or  Rfz 

It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  these  signs  only 
influence  a  single  note  or  chord.  Generally  they 
are  so  used,  but  they  can  be  extended  to  effect 
a  figure  or  phrase.  See  the  last  phrases  of  the 
Adagio  movement  of  the  ''Sonata  Pathetique" 
(Beethoven)  for  example. 

Staccato 
Many  instruction-books  give  a  misleading  state- 
ment about  the  staccato  signs.  They  frequently 
state  that  »  is  staccato  and  f  is  demi-staccato. 
It  is  quite  true  that  when  this  sign  »  is  used  the 
note  is  to  be  made  very  short,  but  it  is  equally  true 
that  in  practical  notation  to-day  the  wedge- 
shaped  sign  is  disapi)caring  altogether  and  the 
dot  over  the  note  is  no  longer  demi-staccato,  but 


58 


Accents 


stands  for  all  staccato  effects,  being  sometimes 
used  even  for  staccatissimo. 

It  is  also  not  universally  known  that,  while 
staccato  implies  an  accent,  it  is  sometimes  used, 
in  piano  music,  for  an  accent  alone.  Examples 
of  this  may  be  found  in  the  closing  theme  of  the 
first  movement  of  Beethoven's  "Sonata  Pathct- 
ique,"  where  the  staccato  dots  over  the  first  eighth- 
note  in  each  group  of  eighth-notes  are  meant  not 
to  shorten  the  notes  but  to  accent  them.  This 
effect  only  occurs  where  the  staccato  is  on  the 
first  note  of  a  rapid  group  of  short  notes. 

Presto 


r'UjL;^ 


Double  Stems  as  Accent  Marks 
Where  a  note  has  a  double  stem  which  cannot 
be  otherwise  explained,  it  is  intended  as  an  accent 
mark,  as  follows: 


i "  tiaf^ 


p 


Accents  59 

Thesis  and  Arsis 
These  words  are  often  misapplied.  Strictly 
speaking,  and  according  to  the  rules  of  prosody, 
arsis  means  the  heavy  accent  and  thesis  the  light 
one.  Therefore,  arsis  would  mean  the  down-beat 
and  thesis  the  up-beat.  These  terms  are  used 
in  music  in  just  the  opposite  sense.  It  will 
generally  be  safer  to  speak  of  "strong  accent" 
and  "light  accent,"  or  of  "primary  and  secondary 
accents,"  and  avoid  confusion  in  this  matter. 
The  mistake  probably  arose  from  the  Greek 
terms,  for  "thesis"  means  "to  put  down,"  while 
"arsis"  signifies  "to  lift  up,"  but  the  depression 
and  raising  of  the  hand  had  an  opposite  signifi- 
cance in  Greek  poetry  from  the  motions  of  the 
musical  conductor.  The  musical  dictionaries  will 
be  found  sadly  at  variance  and  often  mystifying 
in  their  definitions  of  Thesis  and  Arsis. 

Portamento 

One  of  the  most  glaring  instances  of  the  misuse 

of  a  word  by  pianists.     Portare,  in  Italian,  means 

"to    carry,"    and    portamento    would,    therefore, 

indicate  a  carrying  over  of  the  notes,  one  into  the 


6o  Accents 

other,  as  in  a  strong  legato.  The  pianist  uses  the 
term  in  just  the  opposite  sense  and  a  passage 
marked  thus: 


would  have  its  notes  pressed  down  separately 
and  given  with  individual  accent.  A  slight  separa- 
tion would  be  essential.  An  eminent  teacher  once 
said  to  a  pupil,  about  such  a  passage:  ''Play  the 
notes  as  if  you  were  trying  to  give  a  legato  with 
one  finger."  Moscheles  told  a  pupil:  "Let  the 
note^  sob  out."  A  disjunct  movement  is,  there- 
fore, essential,  which  is  the  opposite  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  term.  This  might  not  be  so  awkward 
(since,  as  we  have  seen,  many  terms  are  mis- 
applied in  music,  yet  have  their  meaning  under- 
stood), but  it  happens  that  the  singer  and  the 
orchestral  player,  particularly  the  violinists,  use 
"Portamento"  in  its  true  sense,  carrying  one  note 
into  the  other.  Such  a  confusion  becomes  in- 
tolerable. We  would  suggest  the  term  "dcvni- 
marcato"  for  the  pianist's  misnomer. 
A  word  may  be  added  about  a  mistake  conno  ted 


Accents 


6i 


with  the  young  singer's  execution  of  a  portamento. 
It  would  not  mean  a  drawling  or  sliding  from  one 
note  to  another.  That  would  be  glissando.  It 
would  really  mean  that  in  a  passage  like  the  follow- 
ing: 


$ 


^hB= 


Fare  thee  well. 

the  syllable  "Fare-"  would  be  extended  into  the 
note  E,  with  a  strong  legato  (not  a  slide),  thus 
taking  a  little  of  the  time  of  the  note  away  from 
its  proper  syllable  "Thee." 

A  Portamento  with  Staccato 
We  now  come  to  a  point  where  eminent  teachers 
disagree.     In  passages  such  as  this 


I 


^ 


there  are  many  teachers  who  hold  that  the  second 
note  is  not  struck.  They  teach  the  pupil  to  play 
a  shortened  half-note  and  to  regard  the  slur  as  a 
tie.  I\Iany  others,  among  whom  is  the  present 
writer,  hold  that  the  first  note  here  is  to  be  given 


62 


Accents 


with  a  tenuto  pressure  (clinging  touch),  the  hand 
then  raised,  and  a  Hght  staccato  to  be  made  on 
the  second  note.  It  would  seem  to  be  only  rational 
to  imagine  that  if  a  single  note  were  intended 
it  could  be  more  intelligibly  written  thus — 


^  <^  f "  ^r"  4 


Some  very  eminent  teachers  hold  that  if  the  figure 
is  written  thus — 


$ 


(^   0     m 


pc=P 


the  second  note  is  to  be  struck,  while  if  written  as 
follows : 


4 


m 


r-*^* '■'   m  —w 


the  effect  is  that  of  a  tie,  and  the  second  note  is  not 
to  be  struck,  but  we  doubt  whether  music  engravers 
recognize  this  nice  distinction.  We  refrain  from 
giving  an  opinion  here,  merely  presenting  the  two 
opposite  views  of  some  celebrated  teachers.  We 
shall  speak  further  of  slurs  and  ties  in  a  succeeding 
chapter. 


Accents  63 

Piano  Touch 

We  scarcely  dare  to  interfere  between  the  com- 
batants in  this  domain,  for  many  teachers  have 
evolved  theories  on  this  point  which  they  contend 
for  with  some  acerbity.  We  would  merely  sug- 
gest to  every  piano  teacher  to  spend  a  day  in 
some  piano  factory  studying  the  mechanism  of 
every  part  of  the  instrument  and  especially  examin- 
ing the  action.  We  would  also  suggest  this  simple 
experiment  at  the  instrument :  Open  the  lid  of  the 
piano  so  that  the  hammers  may  be  watched  as 
the  key  is  struck.  Now  press  down,  very  slowly 
and  without  making  a  tone,  one  of  the  keys.  At 
a  certain  point  in  the  descent  of  the  key  the  player 
will  feel  something  give  way.  That  is  the  escape- 
ment throwing  the  hammer  and  passing  through. 
He  will  notice  that  at  this  moment  the  hammer  is 
thrown  toward  the  wire  and  then  falls  back,  now 
totally  disconnected  from  the  key.  He  has  no 
earthly  power  to  influence  the  tone  after  this.  He 
cannot  resume  any  control  of  the  hammer  until 
he  has  raised  the  key  to  press  it  again. 

This  simple  experiment  will  show  him  that  every 
tone  on  the  piano  is  an  accent  of  some  sort,  and 


64  Accents 

that  after  the  key  is  down  *a  diminuendo  of  the 
tone,  =^,  which  he  can  shorten  or  lengthen  at 
pleasure,  takes  place.  He  will  also  understand 
that  the  shaking  to  and  fro  of  the  finger  on  the  key 
that  is  held  down,  as  many  celebrated  pianists  do, 
has  not  the  slighest  effect  upon  the  tone.  It  has  a 
beautiful  effect  upon  the  violin,  this  shaking  of 
the  finger,  and  also  upon  the  clavichord  (which 
has  a  different  mechanism  from  the  piano),  but 
upon  the  piano  it  has  none  at  all.  As  many 
teachers  are  "touchy"  about  touch,  we  will  let 
the  above  experiment  speak  for  itself. 

Over-markings  of  Shading 
There  are  a  few  composers  who  hold  that  pp 
should  represent  the  softest  and  //  the  loudest 
tones.  Wagner  himself  very  seldom  used  ///  or 
ppp,  holding  that  the  conductor  would  understand 
the  extremes  without  further  marking.  But  some 
of  the  modern  composers  go  much  further  than 
this  in  their  markings.  Verdi  and  Tschaikowsky 
have  been  especially  profuse  in  this  direction. 
The  latter,  in  both  his  fifth  and  his  sixth  symphony, 
uses   a  succession  as  follows:    ^^ pp,  ppp,   pppp, 


Accents  65 

pppppy  Such  a  shading  is  impossible,  and  in 
the  piano  scores  of  the  works  the  editors  have 
changed  them  so  that  pppp  is  the  softest  dynamic 
effect  required. 

In  the  other  direction  ////  is  the  loudest  that  we 
have  ever  seen  demanded  in  a  score,  although  it 
is  possible  that  some  may  have  gone  beyond  this. 
The  teacher  may  regard  ppppp  or  /////  as  impos- 
sibilities, and,  therefore,  mistakes  in  notation. 

Many  teachers  are  ignorant  of  what  word  is 
represented  by  ppp  or  ///.  Some  translate  these 
as  "piano-pianissimo"  or  "forte-fortissimo,"  or 
"double  pianissimo"  or  "double  fortissimo," 
which  are  none  of  them  quite  correct  The 
Italian  adds  an  extra  "iss"  for  each  additional 
letter.  Thus  pppp  is  "pianissississimo,"  and  ////, 
"fortissississimo." 

6 


CHAPTER  V 

ERRORS  AND  SHORTCOMINGS  OF 
NOTATION 

Mistakes  About  Clefs 
The  fact  that  most  musicians  use  but  two  clefs, 
the  F  and  G  clefs,  and  that  these  are  fixed  in  posi- 
tion, leads  to  a  few  points  of  error,  especially 

p4<*nt9eo  rum  off»V\citifh 


moief  r**rurttdmtm6  m-*-i  lomm 


i 


nomnem  trt'^'***--mrtmiirfon  eo 


among  pianists.  Every  clef  was  originally  a  letter. 
Every  clef  was  originally  movable,  and  was  meant 
to  designate  the  position  of  one  note  from  which 

66 


Errors  of  Notation  67 

the  others  were  to  be  counted.  The  earliest  clef 
denoted  the  position  of  small  f,  and  was  merely 
that  letter  placed  upon  one  of  the  lines.  The 
specimen  of  music  of  the  nth  century,  on  p.  66, 
will  show  this.  Here  the  F  is  on  the  second  line 
in  the  first  two  staves,  but  on  the  third  line  in 
the  last   one.      The    present    bass-clef,   whether 

written  thus    V        or  thus    (*'  ■  ,  simply  means 

that  f  is  between  the  two  dots.  The  G  clef  has 
also  become  immovable,  yet  in  France,  200  years 
ago,   it  was  often  written  thus  in  violin  music 


^ 


,  meaning  that  g  was  to  be  on  the  first  line 


and  all  other  notes  counted  from  that.  The  bass 
clef  was  also  frequently  found  upon  the  third 
line  instead  of  the  fourth,  and  was  then  called 
the  "Baritone"  clef. 


^)=  r  '^'  r 


The  movable  clef  of  to-day  is  the  C  clef,  which 
shows  the  position  of  middle  c.  It  is  used  as 
follows: 


68 


Errors  of  Notation 


Soprano  Clef 


w^cn^ 


Alto  Clef 


^^ 


Tenor  Clef 


The  soprano  clef  is  least  used,  but  appears  in  some 
masses,  in  contrapuntal  exercises,  and  some  ad- 
vanced soprano  exercises  and  songs.  The  alto 
clef  is  most  used.  It  appears  as  above  and  also 
in  all  viola  music,  in  E-flat  trombone  music,  etc. 
The  tenor  clef  is  found,  as  the  soprano  clef,  in 
exercises  and  songs,  but  also  very  frequently  in 
violoncello  and  trombone  music. 

When  reading  any  vocal  music  for  male  voice 
which  is  written  in  the  G  clef,  always  transpose 
the  music  down  an  octave.  To  make  the  pitch 
of  such  music  more  clear,  the  following  devices  have 


sometimes  been   adopted,   ^^    F 


which  means  that  middle  c  is  now  on  the  third 


Errors  of  Notation  69 


space, 


or       ffn^       ,  both  of  which 


remind  the  reader  of  the  downward  transposition. 
The  object  of  the  transposing  clefs  is  to  avoid 
leger  hnes  in  parts  which  would  otherwise  run 
much  below  or  above  the  staff.  The  G  clef  is 
only  an  easy  form  of  writing  the  German  letter 
"G,"  as  may  be  seen  by  covering  its  upper  half. 

Repeat  Marks 

Many  young  teachers  make  the  error  of  respect- 
ing these  too  implicitly.  Many  dot  repeats  are 
now  omitted  in  musical  interpretation.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  there  was  far  too  much  repeti- 
tion. The  taste  of  the  twentieth  century  is  against 
these  repetitions.  The  following  suggestions  may 
be  offered  in  this  case.  Repeat  dots  at  the  end  of 
the  first  movement  of  any  sonata  may  be  omitted. 
Repeat  dots  at  the  end  of  the  first  part  of  such  a 
movement  (the  Exposition)  should  generally  be 
respected.  In  Beethoven  and  the  later  composers 
all  repeats  may  be  made.  Sometimes  a  repeat 
forms  part  of  the  form,  and  the  melody  would 


70  Errors  of  Notation 

sound  incomplete  without  it.    Such  cases  often 
occur  in  Beethoven's  works. 


The  following  mark       ^11:      ,  often  found  in 

German  editions,  has  no  especial  meaning  in 
itself,  but  the  extra  lines  are  added  to  make  the 
repeats  clearer  to  the  eye.  The  teacher  should 
bear  in  mind  that  dot  repeats  after  a  "D.  C."  are 
almost  never  carried  out.  The  only  exception  is 
where  such  repeats  form  the  consequent  of  a 
period,  the  first  playing  (up  to  the  dots)  forming 
the  antecedent  phrase  and  being  incomplete  with- 
out a  repeat.  The  musical  sense  of  the  player 
will  generally  recognize  such  cases  even  without 
a  study  of  musical  form. 

Whole  Rests 
A  very  frequent  error  in  musical  writing  is  the 
non-appreciation  of  the  fact  that  the  whole  rest 
means  a  whole  measure  rest  in  every  rhythm 
except  f  or  1^.  The  whole  rest  is  almost  the 
only  sign  of  notation  that  has  a  changeable  value. 
The  following  notation  is  absolutely  correct: 


Errors  of  Notation 


71 


{d-l\\'l\\- 


4J  im 


1 


w»nf> 


K 


etc. 


The  following  is  incorrect,  although  it  is  some- 
times found: 


-m 


.    Some  composers  use 


a  dotted  whole  rest  in  the  following  cases: 


p  ■•  Vi  H 


but  this  is  not  necessary,  and  the  whole  rest  had 
better  be  used  in  the  last  two  cases,  since  its  mean- 
ing cannot  be  misunderstood.  The  dotted  whole 
rest  must  be  used  in  f  rhythm,  since  here  a  whole 
rest  has  a  fixed  value,  i.  e.,  two  beats,  but  a  whole 
rest  (undotted)  would  not  appear  as  a  fraction  of 
a  measure  in  j-  rhythm. 

Double  Whole  Rests 
Such  a  rest  would    be    used  in  f  rhythm  to 

indicate  a  whole  measure  rest,   -^  A  '  -j      See 


72  Errors  of  Notation 

Bach's    "Well   Tempered    Clavichord,"    vol.    ii, 

Fugue  No.  9. 

Groups  of  Rests 

The  custom  of  grouping  long  rests  to  the  exact 
value  desired  is  one  that  is  an  inheritance  from 
the  old  music  written  before  the  bar-line  came  into 
existence.  To  such  groups  a  numeral  is  now 
always  attached,  showing  just  how  many  measures 
rest  is  intended.  The  longest  single  sign  would 
mean  four  measures  rest  in  almost  every  rhythm. 


It  would  be  written  thus     ffk  I 


$ 


,  but  it  would 


always  have  a  figure  4  attached  to  it,  to  make  its 
meaning  clear.  This  numeral  has  made  matters 
so  clear  that  many  teachers  have  forgotten  the 
original  meaning  of  the  group  of  rests.  Thus  the 
following : 


$ 


E  I    ■    -     ^B 


would  mean  two  measures,  four  measures,  seven 
measures,  and  ten  measures  rest,  written  just  as 
they  are,  but  they  would  appear  in  modern  music 
thus: 


$ 


Errors  of  Notation 
2      4  7  10 


73 


IE3 


]BE 


Change  in  Notation  of  Rests 
The  quarter-rest  and  the  eighth-rest,  written 
thus  T  7,  resemble  each  other  so  closely  that 
it  has  been  found  expedient  to  change  the  shape 
of  the  quarter-rest  from  ^  to  X-  But  in  some 
editions  (especially  French  ones)  these  rests  will 


be  found  as  follows:    f^%   ^     T     B  ^  [        > 


a  confusing  custom.  A  similar  change  should  be 
made  in  connection  with  the  half  and  the  whole 
rest,  which  resemble  each  other  far  too  closely  for 
easy  reading  in  some  scores,  as  the  following  may 
show. 


^■i-  r  ir  -  f 


Rests  in  Compound  Rhythms 

Ij^  f »  f  J  or  V^  rhythms  a  plain  (undottcd)  half- 
rest,  or  half-note,  or  whole  note,  ought  nei'er  to  be 
written  unless  a  strong  syncopation,  or  change 
of  rhythm,  is  intended.     The  reason  for  this  is 


74 


Errors  of  Notation 


that  these  notes  or  rest  would  not  show  to  the  eye 
the  natural  grouping  of  the  measure.  The  fol- 
lowing examples  may  show  this: 


Incorrect: 


^11  r  rJi 


M=m: 


Correct: 


^jiir'c.c^irj'^^ 


Incorrect 


p"  nyr 


-     fFFf^ 


im 


Correct  (m  ^  '^- 


i 


^ 


H 


#ffii 


^ 


O^DER  OF  Rests  in  Compound  and  Triple 
Rhythms 

This  rule  ought  to  be  well  understood  in  all  nota- 
tion. When  the  first  two  beats  of  any  natural 
group  of  three  beats  is  rest,  we  had  better  use  a 
single  sign  (some  use  two  signs),  but  when  the  last 
two  beats  of  such  a  group  is  rest,  we  must  always 
use  two  signs.  The  following  examples  may  show 
this: 


4 


Errors  of  Notation 

Correct  Not  so  good 


75 


^         Correct  Wrong 


^^ 


Not  80  good, 
Correct    although  allowed 

M 


^m 


Correct 


Wrong 


^f  M  Ir   ■  : 


Some  composers  use  the  dotted  quarter-rest  in 
f ,  f ,  or  ^  rhythms,  but  it  is  better  to  use  two 
signs,  the  longer  coming  first,  thus: 

Correct         Not  so  good 


I 


Longest  and  Shortest  Notes  of  Music 
As  some  teachers  make  an  error  in  this  matter, 
we  m.ay  state  that  the  longest  note  in  use  at  present 
is  the  double  whole-note,  written  thus   1|  "^  ||  »  or 


76  Errors  of  Notation 

thus    JZIJ ,  or  (more  rarely)   thus    |  c  |-     The 
shortest  practical  note  is  the  128th  note,  written 

See  Beethoven's  "Sonata  Pathetique " 

in  the  opening  Grave  passages.    But  very  rarely 
one  may  find  even  256th  notes  written  thus: 


Such  unusual  notes  had  better  be  changed  into 
cadenza-notes,  printed  in  small  type,  and  treated 
as  a  group  of  embellishment-notes.  See  "Arti- 
ficial Groups." 

Rests  Indicated  by  Numbers 
Often,  when  many  measures  rest  are  desired, 
instead  of  using  the  grouping  of  rests  shown  above, 
they  may  be  indicated  by  a  numeral.  The  sign 
connected  with  this  numeral  varies  and  (different 
from  the  grouping  of  rests  shown  above)  has  no 
intrinsic  value  of  its  own.  Sometimes  the  numeral 
may  be  written  over  a  simple  whole  rest,  sometimes 
written  on  the  staff  without  any  added  sign  at  all. 
The  following  examples  will  readily  be  understood: 


Errors  of  Notation  77 

43 61        77 


m 


7I>     '^^^^  - 


etc. 


The  GERiiAN  Notes  B  and  H 
The  German  system  of  naming  the  notes,  and 
especially  the  sharps  and  flats,  differs  materially 
from  ours  in  some  details — see  "Elson's  Music 
Dictionary."  One  very  important  error  is  some- 
times made  in  this  matter.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  "B"  in  German  works  means  B-flat, 
and  the  '*H"  means  B.  An  entire  edition  of  a 
certain  book  was  spoiled  recently  by  the  fact  that 
the  translator  spoke  of  many  of  Beethoven's  works 
as  being  in  B  where  B-flat  was  meant.  German 
scores  constantly  present  "Clarinet  in  B,"  which 
would  represent  a  non-existent  instrument,  in 
English. 

The  error  crept  into  German  music  almost  a 
thousand  years  ago,  when  the  scale  was  represented 
by  letters,  in  Italy.  It  was  entirely  diatonic  with 
one  exception,  the  note  B  was  (to  avoid  a  certain 
progression)  sometimes  "softened  "  (that  is  flatted), 
and  another  shape  of  B  was  used  in  such  a  case. 

The   regular  B   was  written   thus     pi,  but  the 


78  Errors  of  Notation 

softened  B  was  written  thus,  TL  .     From  this  came 

our  flat  and  natural,  after  some  centuries.  But  in 
Germany,  there  also  came  the  error  that  has 
continued  until  now.  The  ancient  theorists  knew 
that  "b"  represented  the  note  now  known  as  B- 
flat  and  applied  it  so,  which  was  correct  in  the 
notation   of   that   time.    But   tney   mistook   the 

square  b,    rn,  for  an  h,  and,  therefore,  named  that 

tone  (really  b  natural)  "H,"  and  never  changed  it 
thereafter.  The  sharp  came  in  later  than  the  flat 
and  natural,  and  was  written  as  a  St.  Andrews' 

Cross,  thus,  /SK  •    ^^^^  "^^^^  ^^  taken  in  very  old 

editions  not  to  mistake  this  sign  for  a  double- 
sharp. 

Notation  of  Sharps  and  Naturals  Faulty 
It  is  very  difficult  to  introduce  a  change  in 
our  notation,  which  has  been  established  for 
centuries  and  has  changed  very  little  in  the  last 
200  years.  But,  as  we  have  shown  above,  the 
quarter-rest  has  been  almost  universally  changed 
because  of  its  resemblance  to  the  eighth-rest.     In 


Errors  of  Notation  yg 

the  same  manner  some  reform  should  take  place 
to  make  the  sharp  and  the  natural  more  clearly 
distinguished  from  each  other.  In  sight-playing 
many  a  near-sighted  musician  is  apt  to  mistake 
one  for  the  other.  It  is  one  of  the  defects  of  our 
present  notation. 

Accidentals  End  their  Effect  at  the  Bar- 
line 
The  young  teacher  needs  to  be  warned  about  an 
almost  obsolete  rule  in  music  that  holds  that  the 
accidental  continues  in  force  if  the  first  note  of  a 
measure  is  on  the  same  degree  as  the  last  note  of 
the  preceding  measure,  when  that  note  has  been 
affected  by  an  accidental.  Thus  sometimes  it 
may  be  found  (but  very  rarely)  that  in  such  a 
measure  as  the  following: 


^ 


^ 


^ 


the  first  note  of  the  second  measure  is  intended 
to  be  flat.  A  few  teachers  hold  to  this  rule,  but 
almost  all  modern  musicians  hold  that  the  acci- 
dental ends  its  effect  at  the  bar-line  unless  it   is 


8o  Errors  of  Notation 

tied  over  to  the  first  note  of  the  next  measure, 
as  follows: 


cJ4j  J  rV'^r'^ 


But  even  then  the  question  arises,  Does  the  acci- 
dental continue  in  force  in  the  measure  into  which 
it  has  been  tied?  For  an  answer  to  this  see  the 
next  paragraph. 

Overuse  of  Accidentals 

If  the  composer  for  any  reason  believes  than  any 
note  may  be  mistaken  by  the  teacher  or  performer, 
he  has  a  right  to  make  its  meaning  sure  by  means 
of  an  accidental.  Whether  the  second  B  in  the 
second  measure  above  given  were  flat  or  natural 
it  ought  to  have  been  marked.  In  applying  the 
above  free  rule  it  is  but  natural  that  the  teacher 
will  find  many  differences  in  the  works  of  difTerent 
composers.  A  certain  note  may  seem  doubtful 
to  one  composer  and  not  to  another.  Thus, 
Pinsuti's  song,  "'Tis  I,"  is  brimful  of  seemingly 
unnecessary    accidentals,    where    the    composer 


Errors  of  Notation  8i 

wishes  to  show  certain  diminished  seventh  chords 
plainly  to  the  eye.  Reinecke's  "Spring-song" 
has  a  natural  appear  before  an  A  in  the  bass  part, 
where  all  the  "A's"  are  natural  before  and  after 
it,  simply  because  a  sharp  appeared  before  an  A 
in  the  right  hand  of  the  accompaniment.  In  most 
of  the  editions  of  Hullah's  "Three  Fishers"  there 
is  a  B-flat  appearing  in  the  introduction  and  in 
the  accompaniment  to  the  refrain,  forming  the 
dominant  seventh  chord  of  F,  where  the  far  less 
usual  first  secondary  seventh  chord  of  C  major  was 
desired  and  no  flat  was  intended.  In  such  a  case 
it  would  have  been  wise  for  Hullah  to  have  written 
a  natural  before  the  B,  although  the  entire  pas- 
sage was  in  the  key  of  C  major  and  strictly  re- 
quired no  natural  or  accidental  of  any  sort. 

It  is  perfectly  legitimate  for  a  composer  to  mark 
F  sharp  by  an  accidental,  in  a  composition  in  G 
major,  if  there  has  been  a  modulation  into  the 
key  of  C,  even  if  the  F  in  question  comes  several 
measures  after  the  natural  has  appeared.  Many 
seemingly  unnecessary  accidentals  are  quite  legiti- 
mate under  the  above  rule,  which  is  almost  uni- 
versally accepted  in  music. 

6 


82  Errors  of  Notation 

Probable  Further  Change 
At  present,  among  the  most  modern  composers, 
there  is  so  little  fixity  of  key  or  continuance  of  one 
tonality  that  the  signature  nowadays  means  very 
little.  It  is  possible  that  such  signatures  may  yet 
be  abolished.  One  or  two  composers  have  already 
made  the  experiment  of  avoiding  any  key  signa- 
ture and  indicating  their  shifting  keys  entirely  by 
accidentals. 

The  Name  "Natural" 
Some  teachers  avoid  the  term  "Natural"  alto- 
gether and  use  the  words  "  Cancel "  or  "  Cancelling- 
mark."  In  some  cases  (in  at  least  one  of  those 
cited  above)  the  word  "Natural"  would  express 
the  meaning  better.  "Natural"  is  the  more  fre- 
quently employed  word,  and  while  sometimes 
"Cancel"  might  be  the  more  graphic,  we  again 
remind  teachers  of  the  tremendous  difficulty  of 
changing  established  usage  in  music. 

"Step"  and  "Half-step" 
Some  teachers  insist  on  using  these  terms  in- 
stead of  "Tone"  and  "Semitone."     There  are  so 
many  real  reforms  necessary  in  the  systematiza- 


Errors  of  Notation 


83 


tion  of  music  that  it  is  a  pity  to  waste  effort  on 
points  of  nomenclature  which,  however  fauUy,  are 
yet  well  and  universally  understood.  We  would 
also  remind  these  reformers  that  ''Tone"  and 
"Semitone"  have  been  used  in  English  and  Latin, 
in  music,  for  more  than  1000  years. 

Accidentals  in  Different  Octaves 
Teachers  and  students  should  be  made  aware 
of  the  fact  that  there  is  diversity  of  opinion  regard- 
ing the  necessity  of  marking  another  accidental 
when  a  note  already  marked  reappears  in  another 
octave  in  the  same  measure.  The  strict  rule  is 
to  re-mark  the  note  if  it  appears  on  any  other 
degree  than  the  accidental,  thus, 


^^ 


rtc 


ft 


But  this  rule  is  very  often  broken  in  violin  and 
vocal  music,  where  passages  like  the  following  are 
very  frequently  found : 


84  Errors  of  Notation 

There  is  such  diversity  of  usage  in  this  matter 
that  the  present  writer  can  do  no  more  than  present 
the  fact. 

Artificial  Groups 

In  artificial  groups  as  used  in  present  notation 
there  are  hundreds  of  errors  of  notation  which 
the  teacher  or  student  will  be  obliged  to  correct 
with  his  blue  pencil.  The  values  of  the  artificial 
groups  and  the  proper  denomination  of  their  notes 
may  be  studied  in  "Elson's  Music  Dictionary," 
article  "Notation,"  page  184,  but  it  may  here  be 
added  that  many  composers  seem  to  be  quite 
ignorant  of  the  laws  underlying  this  subject  and 
use  whatever  denomination  of  notes  their  caprice 
suggests  in  writing  their  artificial  groups.  Chopin 
took  refuge  generally  in  writing  small  notes  in 
his  artificial  groups  (when  the  value  is  free  irre- 
spective of  the  denomination  written),  and  most 
frequently  wrote  eighth-notes,  which  are  often  mis- 
leading. 

Sextolets  Wrongly  Notated 

The  error  which  the  teacher  will  most  frequently 
be  obliged  to  correct,  even  in  editions  of  Beethoven, 


Errors  of  Notation 


85 


Mozart,  etc.,  is  the  false  grouping  of  sextolets.  If 
it  is  remembered  that  any  artificial  group  that  di- 
vides in  halves,  either  by  the  counts  or  the  rhythm 
of  the  accompaniment,  is  wrongly  notated,  it  will 
at  once  be  seen  that  the  following  sextolets  should 
be  written  as  two  triplets: 


(Mozart's  Sonata  in  F  [No.   i  Peters]  andante  movement) 


i 


M 


^^ 


1 


Yet  this  is  an  error  that  is  made  thousands  of  times. 
As  carefully  edited  versions  always  correct  this 
error,  the  teacher  will  often  be  confronted  with 
editions  that  disagree,  and  it  will  be  well  for  him 
to  remember  that  the  above  rule  is  absolute. 

Long  Slurs 
This  is  one  of  the  most  carelessly  handled  sub- 
jects in  the  entire  domain  of  notation.     The  very 


86 


Errors  of  Notation 


definition  of  a  "long  slur"  is  sometimes  wrong. 
In  applying  rules  we  may  classify  a  slur  over  two 
consecutive  notes  of  different  pitch  as  a  "short 
slur,"  and  any  slur  over  more  than  two  notes  as  a 
"long  slur."  For  the  general  rules  for  long  slurs 
see  "Elson's  Music  Dictionary."  The  long  slur 
ought  to  be  used  as  a  phrasing  mark,  but  many 
good  composers  have  used  it  as  if  it  were  a  mere 
ornamental  flourish.  The  excerpt  below  may 
show  how  long  slurs  may  become  very  misleading. 
The  passage  is  from  Mendelssohn's  "Song  With- 
out Words,"  No.  20,  and  is  quite  wrong  in  its  slurs 
if  they  are  regarded  as  phrasing-marks.  They 
are  here  intended  only  to  indicate  legato  playing. 
Other  editions,  however,  will  give  the  proper 
phrasing  by  slurs,  and  endless  confusion  results: 


•nmn^ 


te 


fb^jj^ 


Errors  of  Notation 


87 


'M^hSi 


m 


^^ 


tS^i 


marc  at Q 


y  ^bJlffl^ 


'■):,i-.  g  'y  f  T^ 


^ 


We  regret  that  it  will  be  impossible  at  present 
to  bring  unity  into  this  very  important  subject. 
71ie  teacher  who  is  versed  in  the  study  of  musical 
form  will  have  no  difTicuIty  in  ])ultin,fi;  ])ro]K'r 
phrasing-marks  U]X)n  the  compositions  he  uses 
with  his  pupils,  but  it  is  as  well  to  know  that  many 


88  Errors  of  Notation 

of  the  standard  editions  of  important  works  are 
unreliable  in  their  slurring  and  frequently  contra- 
dict each  other. 

In  violin  music  the  long  slur  is  generally  correct, 
for  here  it  indicates  a  bow  stroke.  In  vocal  music 
also  the  slur  is  generally  reliable,  and  often  indi- 
cates the  notes  that  are  to  be  sung  on  a  breath. 
It  must  be  remembered  also  that  in  good  editions 
of  vocal  music  a  slur  is  also  used  to  indicate  the 
notes  that  are  to  be  sung  upon  a  single  syllable. 
Thus  it  is  quite  possible  to  find  two  sets  of  slurs 
used  simultaneously  in  songs,  the  upper  indicating 
the  phrase  upon  a  single  breath,  the  under  one 
showing  that  several  notes  are  given  to  a  syllable. 
Sometimes  the  latter  slur  is  omitted,  but  it  should 
not  be. 


CHAPTER  VI 

TEMPO  AND  RHYTHM 

Time 
Sometimes  an  error  becomes  sanctioned  by 
usage  and  it  is  impossible  to  reform  it.  The  word 
"Time"  is  used  in  a  manner  that  cannot  be 
strictly  justified.  It  ought  to  signify  the  speed 
of  the  natural  accen'^s,  or  measures,  but  it  has  been 
so  constantly  applied  to  the  rhythm  of  the  measure 
that  "Three-quarter  Time,"  "Six-eighth  Time," 
etc.,  are  not  to  be  considered  incorrect  at  present. 
The  purist,  however,  would  consider  "Three- 
quarter  Rhythm"  or  "Three-quarter  Measure" 
more  correct.  In  the  self-same  manner  the  purist 
would  consider  "Bar"  to  mean  the  line  that 
divides  the  measures  and  not  the  measures  them- 
selves, but  there  are  more  musicians  who  would 
say  "Ten  bars  rest"  than  would  describe  it  as 
"Ten  measures  rest,"  although  the  latter  would 
be  the  more  strictly  accurate.  Custom  has  here 
given  sanction  to  the  less  logical  term. 

«9 


9©  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

This  error,  therefore,  must  be  accepted,  yet  it  is  a 
pity  that,  when  the  word  "Time  "  is  used,  we  cannot 
at  once  be  certain  whether  speed  or  rhythm  is  meant. 

This  is  not  the  case,  however,  with  the  phrase 
''Common  Time,"  which  is  no  more  common 
than  any  other.  The  "Common"  should  be 
changed  into  "Four-quarter."  Nor  does  the 
error  cease  here.  There  are  plenty  of  old  fogies 
who  will  glibly  state  that  the  following  mark  is 
a  "C"  and  stands  for  "Common  Time." 


fe 


This  absurd  error  ought  to  be  thoroughly  ex- 
posed. In  the  mediaeval  days  the  monks  held  a 
triple  rhythm  to  be  the  best  in  music  because  they 
believed  that  it  represented  the  Holy  Trinity. 
They  called  it  "Perfectum"  and  they  marked  it 
by  a  circle,  thus  Q,  but  when  an  even  rhythm 
was  employed  they  called  it  "Imperfectum"  and 
broke  the  circle,  thus  Q  .  From  this  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  accepted  sign  for  |-  is  but  a  religious 
symbol  showing  that  the  Trinity  is  no  longer 
represented  by  the  rhythm. 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  91 

Tempo  Marks 

Let  us  now  explain  "Time"  in  the  sense  of 
speed,  and  employ  the  word  "Tempo,"  which 
is  never  used  with  a  double  meaning.  "Grave" 
is  held  to  be  the  slowest  tempo,  but  this  is  not 
indicated  by  its  Italian  meaning.  The  tempo 
marks  have  sifted  down  into  their  present  order 
more  by  usage  than  by  the  definite  meaning  of  the 
word.  In  a  Music  Dictionary  of  the  year  1724 
the  following  table  of  tempo  marks  from  slowest 
to  quickest  is  given: 

Adagio-adagio.  Vivace. 

Adagio.  Allegro. 

Grave.  Presto. 

Largo.  Prestissimo. 

TEiiPO  Marks  in  Old  Masters 

It  is  a  mistake  to  treat  the  tempo  marks  in  1 7th 
and  1 8th  century  music  as  they  are  employed  in 
the  20th  century.  Tliey  should  be  taken  more 
moderately,  the  (juick  movements  less  quick,  the 
slow  movements  less  slow,  than  in  modern  music. 
A  Haydn  or  Mozart  "Allegro"   is  often  but  an 


92  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

"Allegro  Moderato,"  while  an  "Adagio"  is  fre- 
quently about  the  same  as  a  modern  "Andante." 

Andante  and  Andantino 

Andante,  by  constant  usage,  has  come  to  signify, 
in  music,  a  gentle,  legato,  and  slow  movement. 
The  Italian  word  by  no  means  indicates  this.  The 
word  means  "going"  and  implies  a  steady  move- 
ment. Referring  to  the  old  dictionary  above 
quoted  we  find  this  definition: 

"Andante,  this  word  has  Respect  chiefly 
to  the  Thorough  Bass,  and  signifies,  that  in 
playing,  the  Time  must  be  kept  very  just  and 
exact,  and  each  Note  made  very  equal  and 
distinct  the  one  from  the  other." 

The  constant  use  of  the  word  in  the  sense  of 
tenderness  and  tranquillity  has  brought  another 
error  in  its  train.  Musicians  (non-Italians)  have 
used  the  diminutive — "Andantino" — as  less  slow 
than  "Andante."  This  is  again  an  error  which 
cannot  be  entirely  corrected,  and  it  may  be  taken 
as  a  fact  that  "Andantino,"  as  used  in  modern 
music,    generally  means    quicker    than    Andante. 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  93 

Yet,  as  some  few  use  it  in  its  proper  sense,  it  may 
be  regarded  as  a  most  doubtful  term.  Its  Italian 
meaning  is  "less  going"  and  therefore  slower  than 
Andante. 

Metronome 

It  is  a  mistake  to  state  that  "M.  M."  means 
"Metronome  Mark."  This  reduction  of  terms 
to  the  English  language  often  leads  to  errors. 
"M.  M."  signifies  "Maelzel's  Metronome."  It 
will  be  well  also  to  remember  that  this  appliance 
was  put  upon  the  market  in  181 5,  and,  therefore, 
any  "M.  M."  found  upon  a  composition  written 
prior  to  that  date  is  not  the  speed  commanded  by 
the  composer,  but  the  one  judged  best  by  some 
editor. 

It  is  also  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  metro- 
nome marks  of  the  composer  himself  are  always 
infallible.  Schumann  sometimes  marked  his 
tempo  too  fast.  Raff,  when  a  young  man,  and 
quite  poor,  had  a  metronome  that  beat  too  slov/ly. 
As  a  consequence,  several  of  his  early  compositions 
are  marked  too  quick.  The  metronome  marks 
of  \'on  Biilow  upon  many  technical  studies  (Clc- 
menti,  Cramer,  Czerny,  etc.)    are  much  too  fast 


94  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

and  practically  impossible  for  the  student.  Some- 
times the  direction  given  by  the  composer  is 
erroneous  or  ill  chosen.  In  Schumann's  G  minor 
Piano  Sonata,  first  movement,  we  find  the  direc- 
tion: "So  rasch  wie  Moglich,"  "As  quick  as  pos- 
sible," and  a  little  later  "Quicker,"  and  finally, 
"Still  Quicker."  The  error  is  not  as  great  as  it 
might  seem,  for  at  each  acceleration  he  has  simpli- 
fied the  passage  somewhat. 

Language  in  Tempo  and  Expression  Marks 
These  marks  came  in  with  the  Opera,  about 
A.  D.  1600.  For  three  centuries  Italian  Opera 
ruled  the  world  and  the  Italian  terms  went  into 
various  countries  along  with  it.  Purcell  intro- 
duced the  Italian  terms  into  England.  In  the 
19th  century  there  was  some  revolt  against  the 
Italian  rule  in  this  matter.  See  page  45  for  an 
explanation  of  this  much-disputed  matter.  We 
have  also  alluded  to  the  necessity  of  unification 
in  Musical  Notation  in  the  concluding  chapter 
of  this  volume.  It  might  also  be  desirable  to 
restrict  somewhat  the  fanciful  terms  of  expression 
used  by  some  composers.     Such  terms  as  "Come 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  95 

Fumo"  ("like  smoke"),  "Vuoto"  ("empty"), 
and  other  subtiHties  of  a  Hke  nature  might  well 
be  discarded  from  the  list.  Long  sentences  in 
Italian  are  also  undesirable.  In  the  last-named 
matter  Beethoven  himself  was  something  of  a 
sinner.  Such  sentences  as  "Non  si  fa  una 
Cadenza  ma  s'attacca  subito  il  Seguente"  or 
"Si  deve  suonare  tutto  questo  pezzo  delicatis- 
simamente  e  senza  Sordine"  can  only  cause 
trouble  to  any  teacher  not  conversant  with 
Italian.  If  the  reader  will  refer  to  page  47  of 
this  book  he  will  find  that  a  great  pianist  mis- 
understood what  was  meant  by  the  last  sentence, 
which  is  used  in  the  first  movement  of  the 
"Moonlight"  sonata,  by  Beethoven. 

Tempo  Rubato 
This  irregular  or,  more  properly,  elastic  tempo 
has  many  disputed  points  associated  with  it.  Its 
very  name,  "Rubato,"  is  an  error,  since  the  time  is 
not  "stolen"  or  even  transferred  from  note  to  note. 
Liszt,  who  was  fond  of  teaching  by  parables,  once 
gave  his  view  upon  this  subject,  during  a  lesson 
in  Weimar,  as  follows:  A  young  pianist  had  played 


96  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

a  Chopin  work  in  so  erratic  a  tempo  that  it  stag- 
gered Hke  a  drunken  man.  At  the  end  of  the  per- 
formance Liszt  took  the  culprit  to  the  window  and 
pointed  to  the  trees  outside,  which  were  waving 
freely  in  the  wind.  ''Look  at  those  trees,"  said 
he,  "the  leaves  and  small  twigs  are  dancing  about 
freely,  but  the  large  branches  move  but  little,  while 
the  trunks  are  not  swaying  at  all!  Let  that  be 
your  Rubato." 

Tempo  Rubato,  therefore,  means  elasticity  and 
not  distortion.  It  is  the  very  life-blood  of  some 
modern  music,  as  Chopin  showed  sometimes  when 
Mme.  Dudevant  caused  him  to  play  when  he  was 
not  in  the  mood.  He  would  then  perform  one  of 
his  compositions  in  strict  and  exact  time,  and  the 
guests  would  soon  perceive  that  he  had  given  the 
body  without  the  soul. 

It  has  been  held  that  Beethoven  and  the  classics 
should  be  performed  without  rubato,  but  Pader- 
ewski  thinks  this  to  be  an  absolute  error.  In  his 
chapter  in  Mr.  Finck's  volume — "Success  in 
Music" — he  says  about  Tempo  Rubato: — 

*Tt  is  older  than  the  Romantic  school,  it  is  older 
than  Mozart,  it  is  older  than  Bach.     Girolamo 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  97 

Frescobaldi,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  made  ample  use  of  it." 

Answering  the  question  whether  rubato  should 
be  used  in  Beethoven,  Paderewski  writes: 

"To  this  we  answer,  without  hesitation,  in  the 
affirmative.  Rubato  was  Rubinstein's  playing  of 
the  opening  bars  and  the  Andante  of  the  G  major 
Concerto ;  Rubato  was  Joachim's  rendering  of  the 
middle  part  of  the  finale  of  the  violin  concerto;  and 
BiJlow,  whom  we  by  no  means  tend  to  put  on  the 
same  level  as  the  two  artists  just  mentioned,  but 
who  was  a  great  authority  in  Germany,  indulged 
in  Tempo  Rubato  very  frequently  when  playing 
Beethoven.  The  Largo  in  the  C  minor,  the 
Andante  in  the  G  major,  the  Adagio  in  the  E-flat 
concertos,  call  imperatively  for  Tempo  Rubato." 

Counting  of  Rhythms 

Young  teachers  sometimes  commit  an  error  in 

causing  their  pupils  to  count  as  many  beats  as  the 

numerator  at  the  beginning  of  the  piece  calls  for — 

six  in  6-8,  nine  in  9-8,  etc.      This  is  not  wrong  in 

a  slow  or  a  complicated  measure,  but  is  generally 

unnecessary.     The  numerator  is  usually  (in  com- 
7 


98  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

pound  rhythms)  merely  for  the  analysis  of  the 
measure.  A  6-8  rhythm  would  be  counted  two, 
a  9-8  three,  etc.,  but  the  moment  any  irregularity 
creeps  in  let  the  pupil  count  by  the  numerator,  six, 
nine,  etc. 

The  kinship  of  compound  rhythm  with  simpler 
ones  should  be  well  understood;  6-8  rhythm  is 
but  2-4  in  a  triplet  form,  9-8  is  3-4,  12-8  is  4-4,  etc. 
No  one  ever  dreams  of  counting  24-16  as  twenty- 
four.  Among  the  less  usual  rhythms  we  may  state 
that  24-16  is  practically  4-4  or  8-8,  18-16  is  3-4, 
15-8  is  5-4,  12-16  is  4-8,  etc.     (See  page  43.) 

Characters  of  Rhythms 
We  have  already  pointed  out  (page  13,  et  seq.) 
the  grave  errors  that  have  become  associated  with 
the  theory  that  each  key  has  a  definite  character. 
It  would  be  extending  the  same  fallacy  to  state 
that  every  rhythm  has  a  definite  character,  but  one 
can  at  least  state  that  there  are  certain  character- 
istics in  some  rhythms  which  suit  them  to  the 
portrayal  of  definite  subjects.  A  slow  6-8  is  the 
most  swingy,  cradling,  and  soothing  rhythm  and 
suits  to  Cradle-songs,  Barcarolles,   Swing-songs, 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  99 

etc.  A  quick  6-8  is  the  snappiest  and  brightest 
of  rhythms,  and  we,  therefore,  find  that  Quick- 
steps, Tarantellas,  Saltarellos,  etc.,  are  generally 
written  in  this  rhythm;  12-8  is  often  lofty  and 
dignified  and  many  processionals  are  in  this 
rhythm;  3-4  and  9-8  are  often  best  fitted  for 
expressive  and  romantic  touches.  It  will  be 
found  that  3-4  is  very  frequently  the  rhythm  of  the 
slow  movements  of  Sonatas  and  Symphonies;  5-4 
is  anxious,  perturbed,  and  uneasy.  No  one  would 
dream  of  writing  a  slumber-song  in  5-4  rhythm. 
We  have  seen  in  one  of  D'Indy's  works  a  single 
measure  marked  1-4,  but  as  all  rhythm  demands 
a  contrast  of  light  and  heavy  accents,  no  such 
rhythm  can  exist;  it  can  only  be  used  for  an  odd 
measure,  as  in  this  case. 

Mistakes  About  Alla  Breve 

It  is  an  error  to  state  that  Alla  Breve  means  2-2 

only;    4-2  is  also  an  Alia  Breve  rhythm.     Some 

teachers  call  2-2  the  "Short  Alia  Brcvc"  and  4-2 

the   "Long   Alla   Brcvc."     In   one   sense   all    the 

movements  in  which  we  count  more  than  a  cjuarter- 

notc  to  a  single  beat  is  Alla  Breve,  although  such 
7 


loo  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

a  nomenclature  is  not  to  be  recommended,  as  it 
might  breed  confusion.  The  origin  of  these  large 
rhythms  may  clearly  show  this.  In  Mediaeval 
times  the  notes  were  of  larger  denomination  than 
at  present.  The  Maxima  i  was  equal  to  eight 
whole  notes,  the  Longa  "^  to  four,  the  Breve 
(from  which  comes  our  double  whole  note)  e^ 
to  two,  the  Semi-breve  (our  whole  note)  ♦  to 
one,  and  the  smallest  note  of  the  old  notation 
was  the  Minim,  meaning  the  least  (our  half- 
note),  written  thus    *. 

The  English  perpetuated  the  above  names  and 
to-day  they  call  a  double  whole  note  a  Breve,  a 
whole  note  a  Semi-breve,  and  a  half-note  a  Minim. 
But  they  have  done  more  than  this,  for  they  have 
kept  all  their  sacred  music  (Church  of  England) 
in  these  large  rhythms. 

Where  we  would  write  3-4  or  4-4,  they  write 
3-2  or  4-2,  or  even  3-1  or  4-1  (three  or  four  whole 
notes  to  the  measure),  although  the  last  two  are 
rare.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  this  large 
notation  affects  the  speed;  a  4-2  would  only  be  the 
equivalent  of  4-4,  a  3-2  of  3-4,  etc.  We  have  seen 
a   2-1   rhythm  which  went  as  rapidly  as  a   2-4 


Tempo  and  Rhythm  loi 

Allegro.  Let  the  student  look  over  any  large 
Hymnal  and  he  will  find  that  the  hymns  in  the 
large  rhythms  are  not  slower  than  those  written 
in  ordinary  notation.  Although  this  notation  is 
universal  in  English  Church  music,  it  is  also  often 
found  in  other  countries,  particularly  in  the  Ger- 
man Chorales. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  if  a  com- 
position presents  a  4-4  rhythm  which  is  (in  the 
same  work)  changed  into  4-2,  it  would  mean  a 
broadening  and  slowing-up,  and  vice  versa. 

The  sign  of  Alia  Breve  (^  is  properly  used  for 
2-2,  but  the  same  sign  often  appears  for  4-2. 
Properly  the  sign  for  4-2  (the  numeral  is  always 
best  and  safest)  would  be  thus  (^  or  (j^  ^• 
The  old  sign  for  4-4  (not  to  be  called  "Common 
Time")  C  is  also  often  erroneously  used  for  2-2 
or  4-2.  The  teacher  had  better  scan  a  few  meas- 
ures of  the  music  whenever  the  Alia  Breve  sign 
occurs,  to  make  sure  that  it  is  correctly  written. 

Other  Rhythm  Marks 
Smaller  rhythms  are  only  used  to  denote  a  style 
of  tempo  and   expression.     Thus   3-8  would   be 


102  Tempo  and  Rhythm 

brighter  and  quicker  than  3-4 ;  6-16  than  6-8;  12- 
16  than  12-8,  etc.  Such  an  effect  could,  however, 
be  as  well  produced  by  a  tempo  or  expression 
mark,  and  we  hope  that  eventually  music  may  be 
simplified  by  the  abolition  of  many  of  the  unneces- 
sary rhythm  marks,  3-8,  6-16,  4-8,  etc. 

An  Organ  Misnomer.    Stopped  Diapason 

There  are  some  organists  who  are  beginning  to 
discard  the  term  "Stopped  Diapason"  as  applied 
to  the  pipe  organ  stop  of  to-day.  The  term  is 
still  in  general  use  however.  In  response  to  a 
request  from  the  author,  Mr.  Henry  M.  Dunham, 
the  well-known  organist,  states  the  case  as  follows: 

"As  this  stop  is  of  flute  rather  than  diapason 
quality,  and  is  always  assigned  to  the  flute  family 
in  classifications  of  organ-stops,  the  title  'Stopped 
Diapason'  is  obviously  a  misnomer — it  belongs 
properly  to  that  subdivision  of  the  flute  family 
known  as  the  Bourdon,  and  is  properly  called,  in 
some  modern  organs,  'Bourdon  8.'" 

Mr.  Wallace  Goodrich  also  concurs  in  classifying 
this  stop  as  "Bourdon." 


CHAPTER  VII 

MISTAKES  CONNECTED  WITH  MUSICAL 
FORMS 

MISTAKES  OF  NOMENCLATURE 

Repeat-marks  in  Sonata-Allegro 
The  form  of  the  first  movement  in  classical 
Sonata  or  Symphony  is  frequently  called  "Sonata- 
Allegro."  The  form  is  also  often  used  in  Over- 
tures. Sometimes  it  is  named  "Sonata-move- 
ment" or  "First-movement  form."  It  ought  not 
to  be  called  (as  is  sometimes  done)  "Sonata-form," 
for  this  confuses  it  with  the  shape  of  the  entire 
sonata.  In  the  first  movement  the  exposition 
of  themes  is  generally  ended  with  a  double-bar, 
and  here  repeat-dots  are  found.  This  repeat 
should  generally  be  observed,  as  it  familiarizes 
the  auditor  with  the  themes  which  are  the  im- 
portant material  of  the  movement.  But  very 
frecjuently  in  Mozart's  or  Haydn's  sonatas  a  repeat- 
mark  is  also  found  at  the  end  of  the  movement. 


I04   Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms 

This  repeat  is  unnecessary  and  had  better  be 
disregarded.  It  is  almost  never  found  in  Bee- 
thoven. 

Phrases  and  Periods 

Different  teachers  apply  these  terms  in  different 

ways.    The   author   will   not   attempt   to   bring 

order  into  the  chaos  of  the  terminology  of  Musical 

Form,  but  merely  state  that  Music  in  its  simpler 

forms  is  like  poetry,  and  can  be  scanned  in  the 

same  manner.    The  Phrase,  in  such  music,  is  like 

the  line  in  Poetry,  while  the  Period  is  a  complete 

sentence  or  verse. 

Theme 

This  word  is  also  very  loosely  applied,  being 

sometimes  used  to  indicate  a  figure  in  a  fugue,  and 

from  this  up  to  an  entire  song-form,  in  "Theme 

and    Variations."     The    German    word    "Satz," 

similar  to  Theme,  is  applied  in  the  same  manner. 

The  teacher  must  judge  of  each  use  of  the  wcxd 

by  an  examination  of  the  music  itself. 

Terminology  in  Sonata-form 
It  is  a  pity  that  some  teachers  take  delight  in 
inventing  new  names  in  this  field.    We  would 
advise   the   teacher   to   keep   to   the   established 


Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms    105 

nomenclature  even  where  a  new  term  might  seem 
better  or  more  descriptive.  (See  the  last  chapter 
for  the  only  practical  means  of  correcting  this 
defect.)  In  Sonata-form  we  have  the  following 
assortment  of  terms:  "Chief  Theme,"  "Principal 
Theme,"  "Main  Theme,"  and  "Subject"  is  often 
used  instead  of  "Theme."  All  the  foregoing  are 
what  the  German,  in  his  unified  nomenclature, 
calls  "Hs." — "Hauptsatz."  For  what  the  Ger- 
man calls  "Ss." — " Seitensatz,"  we  have  "Sub- 
ordinate Theme,"  "Side  Theme,"  "Subsidiary 
Theme."  For  "Schls." — "  Schlusssatz,"  we  find 
"Closing  Theme,"  "Conclusion  Theme,"  and  in 
England  the  puzzling  word  "Coda."  See  "Ab- 
breviations" in  "Elson's  Music  Dictionary." 

Coda 
The  word  comes  from  the  Latin  "Cauda,"  a 
tail,  or  appendix.  It  ought  to  be  applied  only 
to  a  division  that  comes  after  the  form  is  com- 
pleted. No  postscript  is  ever  written  in  the  middle 
of  a  letter,  and  no  Coda  should  be  recognized 
until  the  form  is  completed.  When  the  English- 
man marks  the  "Schls."  as  "Coda,"  he  simply 


io6   Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms 

means  that  it  is  a  coda  to  the  Exposition,  not  to 
the  movement,  and  this  leads  to  much  confusion. 
The  word  "Coda"  is  also  applied  to  the  final 
treatment  of  a  fugue,  before  the  end  of  the  form 
is  reached  Here  we  venture  to  suggest  that 
"Coda-episode"  might  preserve  the  established 
nomenclature,  and  yet  make  it  clear  that  this 
"Coda"  is  not  a  true  Postscript. 

Five-division  Song-form 
The  three-division  Song-form  is  made  as  follows: 
Div.  I,  a  Theme  (period);    Div.  II,  a  Counter- 
theme  or  Episode;  Div.  Ill,  return  of  Theme — 
A,— B,— A. 

The  English  call  this  a  Binary  form  (twofold), 
since  there  are  only  two  different  divisions  in  it, 
but  it  is  clearer  to  the  student  to  treat  it  as  a  three- 
division  form.  There  is  an  extension  of  this  form 
which  is  built  as  follows:  Div.  I,  Theme;  Div. 
II,  a  Countertheme  or  Episode;  Div.  Ill,  return 
of  the  Theme;  Div.  IV,  another  Countertheme 
or  Episode;  Div.  V,  a  final  appearance  of  the 
Theme— A,— B,— A,— C,— A. 

Many  theorists  call  this  last  form  "Five-division 


Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms    107 

Song-form,"  and  it  is  undoubtedly  logical  to  do 
so;  but,  unfortunately,  Beethoven,  Mozart,  Haydn, 
Purcell,  and  many  other  composers  regarded  it 
as  a  Rondo  (Second  Rondo-form),  and  have  often 
marked  it  so.  It  is  a  Rondo  in  so  far  as  a  Rondo 
consists  in  returning  to  its  chief  theme,  and  it  may 
be  better  to  hold  to  that  name  under  the  circum- 
stances. Shakespeare  asks, '' What's  in  a  Name  ?" 
In  teaching  (one  could  answer),  there  is  a  great 
deal,  for  a  misleading  name  may  utterly  befog  the 

pupil. 

Two-part  Song-form,  etc. 

Many    teachers    prefer    the    word    "Part"    to 

"Division,"  and  speak  of  "Two-part  Song-form," 

"Three-part  Song-form,"  etc.     We  have  known 

cases  of  pupils  being  misled  thereby  and  seeking 

the  forms  in  Mendelssohn's  "Two-part  Songs," 

Bach's  "Three-part  Inventions,"  etc.     Since  the 

word   "Part"   means   different   things   in  music, 

"Division"  would  seem  to  be  preferable  because 

more  definite. 

FuGAL  Nomenclature 
Without   attempting   to   decide  upon   absolute 
terminology  here,  the   statement  must  be  made 


io8   Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms 

that  Cherubini,  Stainer,  Reinecke,  etc.,  all  differ 
in  the  terms  used  in  teaching  the  various  divisions 
of  the  Fugue.  The  author  has  endeavored  to 
bring  the  fugue  to  its  simplest  analysis  in  ''Famous 
Composers  and  their  Works"  (New  Series)  and  in 
his  Music  Dictionary.  The  terms  he  has  chosen 
in  his  own  classes  are:  "Subject,"  "Answer," 
"  Countersubject,"  "Exposition,"  "Counter-ex- 
position," "Stretto,"  "Episode,"  "Repercussion," 
and  "Coda-episode." 

Strophe-form 

We  come  here  to  a  mistake  in  the  aesthetics 
rather  than  in  the  form  of  composition.  Strophe- 
form  is  that  form  of  vocal  composition  where  the 
music  is  set  to  the  first  verse  of  a  poem  and  then 
repeated  to  each  one  of  the  succeeding  stanzas. 
It  may  be  properly  used  only  where  there  are  but 
few  stanzas  and  each  one  presents  the  same 
sentiment.  Strophe-form  is  much  used  in  folk- 
song music.  It  has  two  defects — first,  monotony; 
second,  the  music  is  almost  sure  to  contradict  the 
sense  of  the  words  at  one  time  or  another. 

The  public  generally  accept  the  expression  of 


Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms    109 

the  singer  for  the  intrinsic  expression  of  the  music, 
but  they  are  sometimes  far  from  being  the  same. 
Many  celebrated  songs  commit  ludicrous  errors 
in  this  matter,  errors  which  none  of  the  public 
discern  until  the  music  is  analyzed  for  them.  Let 
the  teacher  examine  Hullah's  beautiful  "Three 
Fishers,"  and  he  will  find  that  the  music  agrees 
perfectly  with  the  second  and  third  stanzas,  but 
ludicrously  contradicts  the  first.  He  will  find  a 
fierce  dissonance  where  the  line  runs — 

"  Each  thought  of  the  woman  who  loved  him  the  best." 

(not  so  dreadful  a  matter),  and  the  most  sombre 
and  portentous  passage  at — 

"  And  the  children  stood  watching  them  out  of  the  town," 

as  if  the  children  were  stealthy  evil-doers. 

Kingsley's  "When  All  the  World  is  Young"  is 
distinctly  major  and  minor  in  its  two  verses,  yet 
many  times  it  has  been  set  with  the  same  music 
to  each  stanza.  Great  composers  have  sometimes 
fallen  into  weakness  because  of  inattention  to  this 
matter.  Schubert's  "Wandering"  is  a  proper 
application  of  the  strophe-form,  since  each  stanza 


I  lo   Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms 

has  the  same  mood.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
his  "Impatience."  But  his  ''Miller's  Flowers" 
has  dissimilar  thoughts  set  to  the  same  music,  and 
is,  therefore,  bad  art. 

General  Mispronunciations 
The  word  "Sinfonia"  should  be  pronounced 
Sin-foh-wee-ah,  and  not  S'm-joh-m-ah..  "Fan- 
tasia" is  pronounced  Fan-ta-2ee-ah,  not  Fscn-tah- 
see-ah.  "Concerto"  may  be  pronounced  as  Ita- 
lian— Con-c^air-toh,  or  in  English  as  Concerto. 
Concerto  has  become  as  English  a  word  as  Soprano. 
Among  less  used  w^ords  which  many  teachers  mis- 
pronounce are  Percfewdosi,  Semplice,  which  should 
be  pronounced  6'ew-plee-cheh,  etc. 

Piano,  Pianoforte,  and  Pianist 
We  have  as  yet  found  no  authority  for  the 
pronunciation  "Pee-an-ist."  The  accent  should 
fall  on  the  second  syllable  as  in  Piano.  There  are 
some  purists  who  may  take  the  teacher  to  task  for 
using  the  word  "Piano"  to  describe  the  instrument, 
saying  that  it  should  always  be  "Piano-forte." 
But  we  beg  to  remind  these  sticklers  that  in  that 
case  the  player  upon  it  must  always  be  called  a 


Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms    1 1 1 

"Piano-fortist."  The  use  of  the  word  "Pianist" 
is  a  logical  justification  of  the  word  "  Piano."  The 
original  term  was  **  Clavicembalo  con  Piano  e 
Forte,"  which  has  gradually  shortened  into 
"Piano."  "Piano-forte"  is  permissible,  but  not 
necessary. 

Mispronunciations  of  Composer's  Names 
Here  many  errors  are  likely  to  occur,  and  no 
fixed  rules  can  be  given,  since  so  many  different 
languages  are  involved.  One  ought  to  remember, 
however,  that  in  Russian  and  Polish  the  letter 
"W,"  when  ending  the  penultimate  or  the  final 
syllable,  has  generally  the  sound  of  "F."  This 
accounts  for  Padere^ski,  Tschaiko^sky,  etc. 

Many  Russians  mispronounce  the  names  of 
their  own  composers.  An  eminent  Russian  as- 
sured me  that  a  name  spelled  exactly  the  same 
would  often  be  pronounced  in  different  ways  in 
different  parts  of  Russia.  Even  the  spelling  may 
differ  in  American  concert  programmes,  and  one 
may  expect  to  find  "Tschaikowski,"  "Tschaikov- 
sky,"  "Tshaikoffski,"  and  other  variants  in  differ- 
ent books  and  programmes. 


112    Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms 

The  following  list  may  be  of  some  help  to  the 
teacher.  A  more  complete  one  may  be  found  in 
"Elson's  Music  Dictionary." 

Names  Frequently  Mispronounced 
Beethoven,  never  Beethoven;  Berlioz,  sound  the 
"z";  Carreiio  is  pronounced  Carrmyo;  Cramer, 
pronounced  Krah-mev;  Czerny,  pronounced 
Tschair-ny;  Dvorak,  pronounced  Di^or-szhahk; 
Gabrilowitch,  pronounced  Gah-bril-o/t-vitch ; 
Handel  (strictly  Handel  or  Haendel),  exactly  like 
the  English  word  "handle";  Haydn  is  High-dn; 
Kjerulf  is  Chher-u\i,  with  the  German  sound  of 
"ch";  Kohler  is  about  as  "Kayler."  Massenet 
should  be  Mahs-seh-n&y;  Mascagni  is  Msihs-kah- 
nyee;  Moscheles  is  accented  on  the  first  syllable; 
Rachmaninoff  is  accented  upon  the  second  sylla- 
ble; Rimski-Korsakoff,  a  much-debated  name,  is 
accented  upon  the  first  and  the  next  to  the  last 
syllable;  Smetana  is  accented  on  the  first  syllable 
only;  but  the  list  may  easily  grow  into  very  large 
proportions.  In  French  names  the  sound  of  "u" 
is  a  great  stumbling-block  to  American  teachers. 
It  is  sounded  like  a  very  dark  "ee";  thus  Dukas 


Mistakes  Connected  with  Forms    113 

is  Dee-kah,  and  Debussy  becomes  Deh-bees-sy,  as 
nearly  as  it  can  be  phonetically  spelled  in  English. 
A  name  like  Saint-Saens  utterly  defies  phonetic 
reproduction. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

VOCAL  ERRORS  AND  DOUBTFUL  POINTS 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  touch 
upon  the  disputes  regarding  methods  of  breathing, 
uniting  of  registers,  etc.  These  matters  form  the 
subjects  of  a  dispute  that  often  becomes  acri- 
monious. Almost  every  work  that  theorizes  about 
the  voice  has  some  aspersion  to  cast  upon  other 
methods  or  books  that  take  different  views.  A 
few  points  upon  which  popular  errors  exist  may, 
however,  be  briefly  recited. 

The  Tremolo 
This  is  generally  regarded  as  a  fault  in  Germany, 
England,  and  America.  In  France  and  Italy, 
however,  a  vibrato  tremolo  is  regarded  with  favor. 
It  is  supposed  to  be  sympathetic  and  emotional  in 
those  countries. 

What  is  a  Good  Vocal  Language? 
The  chief  requisites  of  a  language  in  its  vocal 

use  are  crisp  consonants  and  open  vowels.    The 

114 


Disputed  Vocal  Points  115 

Italian  fills  these  requirements  perfectly.  An 
Italian  would  shudder  at  such  a  vowel  sound  as  we 
give  in  "birth,"  "yearn,"  or  "bird."  The  order 
of  the  chief  languages  in  their  fulfilment  of  vocal 
requirements  may  be  stated  as  follows:  After 
Italian  come  Spanish  and  Latin,  the  former  having 
a  few  gutturals.  French  would  be  next  to  these, 
its  nasality  being  a  defect.  German  is  singable 
because  of  its  open  vowels,  but  has  many  gutturals. 
A  phrase  such  as  "Ich  liebe  dich"  would  illus- 
trate this  clearly.  Some  teachers  attempt  to 
soften  such  effects  by  pronouncing  such  a  phrase 
as:  "Isch  liebe  disch,"  which  is  going  out  of  the 
frying-pan  into  the  fire.  English  is  somewhat 
more  difficult  as  a  vocal  language  than  the  fore- 
going, such  words  as  "singing,"  "battles," 
"earth,"  etc.,  showing  plainly  some  of  the  defects 
of  the  language,  but  these  are  only  difficulties 
to  be  overcome.  In  England,  where  almost  every 
vocal  teacher  lays  great  stress  upon  articulation, 
one  is  seldom  made  aware  of  the  vocal  difficulties 
of  the  language,  in  the  concert-room.  America 
is,  unfortunately,  far  behind  England  in  ibis 
matter.     The    following   couplet  contains  about 


ii6  Disputed  Vocal  Points 

as  many  vocal  defects  as  any  two  lines  in  the 
language : 

"Afloating,  afloating,  upon  a  sleeping  sea, — 
All  night  I  heard,  a  singing  bird,  upon  the  topmast  tree." 

Pronunciation  or  Latin 
The  vocal  teacher  should  not  forget  that  there 
are  three  ways  of  pronouncing  Latin:  The 
English  method,  by  which  a  celebrated  writer 
rhymed  "bite  'em"  with  the  Latin  "Ad  infinitem." 
Second,  the  Continental  pronunciation,  which 
closely  follows  the  Italian  rules.  Lastly,  the  "  Old 
Roman,"  now  used  in  many  colleges,  which 
hardens  the  c  into  k,  etc.  Of  these  three,  the 
Continental  is  decidedly  the  preferable  for  the 
vocal  teacher,  since  it  is  used  by  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  almost  all  the  Latin  songs  that  he  will 
use  are  connected  with  the  service  of  that  church. 

Compass  of  Children's  Voices 
Until  very  recently  a  decided  error  was  made  in 
this  field.     Believing  that  the  high  notes  strained 
the  juvenile  voice,  almost  all  children's  songs  were 
written  within  a  very  narrow  compass,  about 


Disputed  Vocal  Points  117 


^ 


2z: 


But  careful  investigation  has  shown  that  the  child's 
voice  is  quite  normal  in  higher  passages,  and 
to-day  the  compass  of  children's  songs  is  about 


# 


a  full  fifth  higher  than  of  yore. 

What  Constitutes  a  Musical  Child 
In  connection  with  the  mistake  regarding  the 
true  compass  of  the  child's  voice  it  may  be  proper 
to  speak  of  another  error  regarding  music  in 
childhood.  Many  imagine  that  if  a  child  remem- 
bers a  tune  or  has  a  good  sense  of  pitch,  it  is  of 
necessity  a  musical  prodigy  and  ought  to  be  devoted 
to  a  musical  career.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  while 
these  qualities  are  essential,  many  a  child  possess- 
ing them  may  fall  far  short  of  being  a  composer 
or  a  great  musician.  Together  Vvith  the  tests  of 
pitch  and  of  musical  memory  one  ought  to  test 
the  subtler  qualities  of  musical  appreciation. 


ii8  Disputed  Vocal  Points 

Almost  invariably  a  child  cares  chiefly  for  the 
simplest  and  most  direct  treatment  of  a  theme. 
An  accompaniment  of  thirds  and  sixths,  that  a 
cultured  adult  would  find  too  cloying  in  sweetness, 
is  eminently  satisfactory  to  the  juvenile  auditor. 
Counterpoint,  with  its  interwoven  melodies,  is 
almost  always  repugnant  to  the  young  listener. 
When,  however,  a  child  is  discovered  who  pre- 
fers a  good  contrapuntal  treatment  to  a  har- 
monic one,  who  enjoys  the  appearance  of  dis- 
sonances and  their  resolution,  in  preference  to  a 
succession  of  consonances,  one  has  found  a  musi- 
cian in  embryo. 

Tessitura. 
The  vocal  teacher  must  not  forget  that  a  mere 
statement  of  the  highest  and  lowest  note  of  a 
song  does  not  always  indicate  its  fitness  for  a 
certain  class  of  voice.  It  is  the  tessitura,  the 
general  pitch  of  the  tones,  which  determines  that. 
Thus  one  could  write  a  song   in  this  compass 


ih: 


Disputed  Vocal  Points  119 

which  might  be  an  alto  song,  while  another  song 
in  exactly  the  same  compass  might  be  as  clearly  a 
soprano  selection. 

Chorus  Breath-marks 
It  will  always  lead  to  a  better  ensemble  if,  in 
a  chorus,  the  director  sees  to  it  that  breathing- 
marks  are  put  in  every  copy  of  the  music.   Unanim- 
ity in  breathing  is  a  great  essential  to  a  perfect 

ensemble. 

The  Study  of  Metre 

Every  chorus  conductor  or  choir  director  should 
be  familiar  with  the  scansion  of  poetry.  The  un- 
derstanding of  how  to  fit  the  natural  pulsations 
of  a  poem  to  the  natural  pulsations  of  music  will 
assist  greatly  in  impressing  the  effects  of  a  chorus 
upon  its  singers. 

Alterations  of  Words 
The  conductor  will  often  find  it  necessary  to 
change  a  word  or  a  sentence  in  a  song  or  a  chorus. 
Various  reasons  may  lead  to  such  a  change.  The 
vowel  "e"  on  a  high  note  may  be  very  effective 
at  times  in  a  male  part,  while  very  unsiiigublc  in 
a  female  voice.     Sometimes  the  association  of  a 


I20         Disputed  Vocal  Points 

word  renders  it  unsuitable  in  a  song.  Thus,  in 
Mendelssohn's  Cradle  Song,  the  line  ''Sleep 
through  the  star-spangled  hours"  would  awaken 
a  doubtful  impression  in  an  American  auditor, 
while  it  might  do  very  well  in  England.  The 
Hymn,  ''The  Lord  Distils  the  Mountain  Dew," 
might  suit  well  enough  everywhere  except  in 
Scotland,  where  "Mountain  Dew"  happens  to 
mean  whiskey. 

When  the  words  are  scriptural,  it  is  better  to 
retain  an  awkward  phrase  than  mar  the  beauty 
of  the  text.  Thus,  in  the  "Messiah,"  the  con- 
ductor will  find  the  sopranos  obliged  to  strain  a 
little  at  "King  of  Kings"  (in  the  "Hallellujah 
Chorus"),  while  "Lord  of  Lords"  will  be  com- 
paratively easy.  He  will  find  another  awkward 
phra&e  in  "Unto  us — a  child  is  born — unto  us — 
a  Son  is  given,"  for  the  sibilants  will  be  noticeable 
when  many  voices  take  them.  In  such  cases  the 
consonants  must  be  very  clear,  but  very  brief. 

Errors  in  Translation 
Here  the  singing  teacher  must  be  constantly  on 
his  guard,  for  the  mistakes  are  legion.    Often  the 


Disputed  Vocal  Points  121 

composer's  best  points  are  destroyed  in  the  trans- 
ference of  the  text  from  one  language  to  another. 
There  is,  for  example,  an  edition  of  Schubert's 
"Erl-king,"  in  which,  by  a  blunder  of  the  trans- 
lator, the  affrighted  words  of  the  child  are  given 
to  the  deepest  notes  of  the  music,  while  the  father 
replies  in  a  piping  treble.  The  conscientious 
teacher  will  very  frequently  be  obliged  to  revise 
a  translated  copy  of  a  song  before  giving  it  to 
his  pupil  to  study. 

It  is  always  better  to  sing  an  operatic  aria  or 
scena  in  the  original  tongue,  in  spite  of  the  great 
amount  of  argument  that  is  made  for  "opera  in 
English."  Many  operatic  librettos  are  impossible 
to  translate  properly.  Wagner  in  English  is  al- 
ways merely  a  makeshift.  One  needs  only  to 
examine  an  operatic  translation  to  ascertain  this. 

The  most  composed  bit  of  poetry  extant  is 
Heine's  "Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume  "  (there  are  more 
than  400  musical  settings  of  it),  yet  we  have  not 
yet  seen  even  one  English  version  where  the 
exact  spirit  of  the  German  poem  is  kept  and  the 
accents  placed  on  the  words  to  which  Heine 
wished  to  give  stress.     To  have  real  translations 


122  Disputed  Vocal  Points 

it  would  be  necessary  to  have  a  poet  and  a  musi- 
cian (preferably  a  singing-teacher)  work  together, 
and  even  then  some  songs  would  be  impossible  to 
translate  perfectly.  Of  the  chief  vocal  languages, 
the  German  translates  best  into  English,  the 
French,  worst. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PSYCHOLOGICAL  AND  PHYSICAL 
ERRORS  CONCERNING  MUSIC 
When  Congreve  wrote  "Music  hath  charms 
to  soothe  the  savage  breast"  he  wrote  a  truth, 
but  not  the  entire  truth,  for  we  have  seen  (Chapter 
I)  that  animals  also  come  under  the  spell  of  the 
natural  pulsation  of  music — rhythm. 

Effects  of  Rhythm 
There  is  not  much  doubt  that  the  rhythmic 
effects  of  music  will  yet  be  employed  as  part  of 
Materia  Medica.  The  effect  upon  the  human 
system  is  very  direct.  It  can  be  used  as  a  curative 
agent  in  cases  of  stuttering  and  of  St.  Vitus' dance. 
In  such  cases,  however,  the  best  application  of 
its  powers  is  to  have  the  patient  sing  himself. 
The  regularity  of  vibrations  (tone)  and  of  pulsa- 
tions (rhythm)  combined  almost  always  works 
beneficially.  The  author  has,  in  two  marked 
cases,  established  an  improvement  in  one,  and  an 

absolute  cure  in  the  other,  by  vocal  work. 

123 


124  Psychological  Errors 

Music  and  the  Insane 

The  employment  of  music  in  this  field  is  as  yet 
in  its  infancy.  There  is  not  much  question  but 
that  music  properly  employed  in  cases  of  mental 
alienation  is  beneficial,  but  experiments  have 
thus  far  been  made  but  superficially,  and  few 
well-authenticated  data  are  obtainable.  The 
scriptural  accounts  of  such  uses  of  music,  as  the 
playing  of  David  before  Saul,  will  probably  be 
corroborated  by  modern  experiments.  As  yet, 
however,  the  physician  and  the  musician  have 
scarcely  worked  together  at  all.  The  employ- 
ment of  rapid  dancing  to  cure  the  bite  of  the 
tarantula  (whence  the  name  of  the  dance — 
"Tarantella")  seems  to  be  a  well-authenticated 
use  of  the  rhythmic  effects  of  music  in  febrile  or 
tetanic  cases. 

Not  only  the  Bible,  but  much  of  Greek  and 
Egyptian  literature  is  filled  with  accounts  of  the 
psychological  use  of  music.  The  use  of  music 
by  the  Pythagoreans  as  a  tonic  in  the  morning 
and  as  a  sedative  in  the  evening  is  quite  v/ell 
authenticated.     The    different    effects    of    music 


Psychological  Errors  125 

upon  different  minds  and  natures  is  still  to  be 
investigated. 

The  use  of  rhythmic  music  among  the  medicine- 
men of  many  savage  tribes  will  not  be  dismissed 
by  the  psychologist  as  a  mere  superstition.  Dif- 
ferent races  have  different  degrees  of  predisposi- 
tion toward  rhythm.  The  negroes  have  far  more 
than  the  North  American  Indians,  the  Latin  races 
more  than  the  Saxon. 

Association  of  Ideas  in  IMusic 
There  is  much  to  be  studied  yet  as  to  how 
powerful  music  is  in  awakening  memories,  and 
how  much  of  its  power  proceeds  from  this  pro- 
cess. The  Ranz  des  Vaches,  during  the  Napoleonic 
wars,  "Farewell  to  Lochaber,"  during  the  Sepoy 
Mutiny,  and  ''The  Old  Folks  at  Home,"  during 
our  own  Civil  War,  were  often  prohibited  by 
different  generals  because  they  caused  too  many 
desertions.  The  mere  melodies,  without  words, 
v.'ere  as  potent  as  the  songs  themselves.  Such 
an  association  of  ideas  might  cause  certain  musical 
selections  to  mean  much  to  one  person  and  little 
to    another.     A    Chinese    mandarin    once    told 


126  Psychological  Errors 

Father  Amiot  (a  Jesuit  missionary)  that  the 
European  music  seemed  very  skilful  to  him,  but 
it  did  not  go  to  the  heart  as  Chinese  music! 


Brain  Action  in  Music 

There  are  many  points  in  the  execution  of  music 
that  are  not  fully  understood  by  the  scientist,  and 
hence  are  not  properly  investigated.  The  playing 
of  three  notes  in  one  hand  against  four  or  five 
or  two  in  the  other  involves  a  degree  of  sub- 
conscious action  that  deserves  analysis.  Ex- 
perienced teachers  know  that  they  sometimes 
find  intelligent  and  earnest  pupils  who  cannot 
master  such  combined  rhythms,  and  they  then 
simplify  them  (see  Klindworth's  editions  of 
Chopin),  but  they  are  seldom  aware  of  the  phys- 
iological difficulty  that  underlies  them. 

The  Memorization  of  Music 

Investigation  here  shows  that  three  mental 
processes  are  involved — tone-memory,  sight-mem- 
ory, and  motor-memory.  The  first  is  chiefly 
employed.    A  good  musician  remembers  the  se- 


Psychological  Errors  127 

quence  of  musical  ideas  and  harmonies.  He  may 
often  alter  certain  notes,  but  he  will  always  present 
the  fundamental  idea.  Some  musicians  remember 
chiefly  the  ''look  of  the  page";  they  visualize  the 
work,  and  imagine  it  upon  the  music-rack  before 
them.  At  times,  when  the  memory  is  at  fault  in 
the  foregoing  actions,  a  musician  can  save  disaster 
by  trusting  to  motor-memory.  He  half-con- 
sciously  remembers  the  position  of  his  hands,  the 
extension  of  his  fingers,  and  follows  this  precarious 
guide  to  safety. 

The  period  of  awakening  of  musical  thought 
ought  to  be  more  carefully  investigated.  It  some- 
times precedes  speech.  The  author  has  seen  a 
babe  (daughter  of  a  prominent  New  York  musi- 
cian) which  cried  at  sad  minor  and  laughed  at 
bright  major  melodies.  Reyer  tells  of  a  child  of 
nine  months  that  was  able  to  sing  notes  as  they 
were  sounded  on  a  piano.  Dvorak's  son  sang  the 
"  Fatinitza  March  "  at  the  age  of  one  year.  Robert 
Franz  in  adult  years  remembered  having  heard  a 
certain  Chorale  when  as  a  babe  he  was  carried  by 
his  nurse  to  a  religious  festival. 


128  Psychological  Errors 

Quickness  of  Musical  Perceptions 
Experiments  have  been  made  in  this  field  which 
may  astonish  many  musicians.  A  pianist  struck 
two  tones  with  both  hands  exactly  together,  as 
he  thought.  But  the  left  hand  was  proved  to  be 
Toh  ^^  ^  second  later  than  the  right.  He  tried 
to  strike  a  tone  with  his  left  hand  the  moment  a 
signal  was  given.  He  averaged  ^  of  a  second 
later  than  the  sound-signal.  When  it  came  to 
more  complex  processes,  such  as  pressing  down 
a  tone  with  the  right  hand  when  he  heard  a  high- 
pitched  signal,  and  the  left  hand  when  a  deep- 
toned  signal  was  given,  the  result  took  appreciably 
longer. 

Lack  of  Musical  Perception 
We  generally  speak  of  persons  having  such  a 
lack  as  "having  no  ear  for  music."  The  auditive 
faculty  certainly  does  not  exist  in  any  two  persons 
quite  alike,  and  to  some  it  is  denied  altogether. 
Thus  we  may  find  some  persons  of  high  intelligence 
and  great  mental  attainments  who  have  no  musical 
appreciation  whatever;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
one  may  find  persons  of  low  intelligence  who  are 


Psychological  Errors  129 

most  sensitive  to  the  power  and  beauty  of  music. 
Thousands  of  negroes  in  Africa  were  infinitely 
in  advance  of  Dean  Swift  or  Alfred  Tennyson  in 
this  respect.  Charles  Lamb,  Dr.  Johnson,  Tenny- 
son, Swift,  Victor  Hugo,  Catherine  II,  and  many 
others  might  be  named,  who  have  been  denied  this 
perception.  It  is  a  cerebral,  not  an  intellectual 
defect. 

Physical  Changes  Due  to  Musical  Practice 

That   there   are   certain   changes  of  muscular 

tissue  due  to  constant  musical  practice  seems  a 

fact  that  has  been  demonstrated  by  surgery.    The 

vocal  chords  in  the  average  throat  are  white,  but 

with  the  professional  singer  they  become  a  pearl 

gray.    This  can  be  demonstrated  by  means  of  an 

examination    with    the    laryngoscope.    No    such 

examination  is  possible  in  the  case  of  the  pianist, 

but  it  is  almost  certain  that  a  similar  change  takes 

place  with  his  much-employed  muscles.   Sir  Robert 

Hunter,  the  English  surgeon,  once  said  that  he 

would  gladly  give  a  thousand  pounds  for  a  pianist's 

hand  to  dissect — but   none   were  offering  in  the 

market  at  that  price. 
9 


130  Psychological  Errors 

Physical  Effects  Due  to  Musical  Practice 

The  most  healthy  musical  practice  of  all  is 
singing.  Vocal  practice  is  a  species  of  universal 
gymnastics  that  causes  activity  or  vibration  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  human  body,  and  almost 
every  part  is  benefited  by  it. 

Not  all  vibrations,  however,  are  beneficial  to 
health.  It  would  seem  that  the  high  overtones, 
with  their  rapid  vibrations,  are  exhausting  to  the 
brain.  Instruments  in  which  these  are  prominent 
are  sometimes  apt  to  cause  nervousness.  The 
oboe  and  the  reed  organ  are  less  restful  to  the 
performer  than  clarinette  or  pipe  organ  would  be. 
Blowing  upon  wind  instruments  is  an  exaggeration 
of  normal  breathing  and  carries  with  it  the  effects 
which  such  an  exaggerat  on  induces.  The  respira- 
tions, however,  average  about  as  many  per  minute 
as  in  ordinary  breathing,  but  the  inspiration  is 
almost  always  deeper  than  in  ordinary  breathing, 
and  the  intake  of  breath  generally  more  rapid. 

RobilHer  is  quoted  in  Dr.  J.  Frederick  Rogers' 
pamphlet  on  "The  Effect  of  Blowing  upon  Musical 
Wind  Instruments,"  as  saying: 

"Among   the   pathological   effects  which  may 


Psychological  Errors  131 

result  from  the  prolonged  exercise  upon  the 
clarion,  cornet,  or  trumpet  are  those  on  the  circula- 
tion and  on  the  lungs.  The  robust  men,  with  large 
chests,  become  habituated,  and  do  not  suffer  bad 
effects ;  but  those  of  feeble  constitution  and  narrow 
chests,  those  who  are  very  full  blooded,  who  have 
a  short  neck  and  who  are  large  and  thick-set, 
experience,  after  having  devoted  a  long  time  to  a 
wind  instrument,  the  oppression  of  suffocation,  as 
if  they  had  just  been  running." 

He  warns  such  of  the  danger  of  cerebral  con- 
gestion, apoplexy,  or  hernia. 

Dr.  J.  Frederick  Rogers,  however,  states  that 
where  the  breathlessness  and  the  dizziness  after 
long-sustained  tones  do  occur,  they  are  not  more 
serious  than  the  same  results  brought  about  by 
running  or  the  lifting  of  a  heavy  weight.  They 
would  not  do  harm  except  in  cases  where  there 
was  a  preceding  degenerative  condition. 

Oboe  playing  is  a  more  severe  strain  upon  the 
breathing  apparatus  because  the  expiration  must 
be  restricted.  The  breath  must  be  given  out  very 
slowly — a  more  abnormal  process  than  that  of 
blowing  on  other  instruments. 


132  Psychological  Errors 

Is  Catarrh  Prevalent  Among  Wind-instru- 
ment Players? 
The  Surgeon-general  of  the  German  Army  says 
that  wind-instrument  players  in  his  military  service 
show  a  tendency  to  catarrhal  complaints,  but  in 
America  an  observation  of  military  bands  seems 
to  lead  to  an  opposite  conclusion.  Dr.  Rogers, 
in  summing  up  an  extensive  series  of  investigations, 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  a  moderate  use  of 
the  wind  instruments  is  helpful  to  the  lungs, 
throat,  nose,  etc.  He  considers  the  Boehm  flute 
the  most  desirable  instrument  for  a  person  with 
weak  lungs,  "since  it  offers  less  effort  than  the 
other  instruments,  even  less  than  singing,  requires 
less  skill  in  the  production  of  tone  than  the  reed 
instruments;  is  adapted  for  individual  playing;  is 
possessed  of  beauty  of  tone;  is  not  sombre;  has 
a  mechanism  easily  acquired,  though  always 
offering  something  to  overcome  in  the  perfection 
of  technique ;  and  lastly,  is  an  instrument  adapted 
for  women  as  well  as  men."  He  considers  the 
soprano  saxophone  to  come  next  in  desirability 
for  those  without  much  lung  power.  To  this  the 
author  can  add  that  he  has  known  of  an  eminent 


Psychological  Errors  133 

physician  prescribing  the  use  of  the  saxophone 
to  a  patient  suffering  with  dulness  of  hearing,  as 
a  tonic  to  the  aural  nerves. 

The  Longevity  of  Composers 
It  is  a  popular  error  to  suppose  that  composers 
die  young.  Their  average  of  life  is  not  so  great 
as  that  of  clergymen  or  bankers,  but  it  is  longer 
than  is  generally  supposed.  The  error  is  founded 
on  the  fact  that  several  of  the  masters  have  been 
unable  to  stand  the  strain  of  the  struggle  with 
poverty  and  lack  of  recognition,  and  have  died 
before  reaching  middle  age.  But  the  many  cases 
of  especial  longevity  change  the  average  decidedly. 
Sometimes  also  the  nervous  strain  consequent  upon 
some  large  composition  has  caused  the  break-down 
of  an  already  enfeebled  body.  Thus,  "Elijah" 
was  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  death  of  Alen- 
dclssohn;  "Carmen"  (and  its  lack  of  recognition), 
of  Bizet;  "The  Seasons,"  of  Haydn;  "Zampa," 
of  Ilerold;  and  other  instances  might  be  named. 

But  against  the  cases  of  early  death,  many  of 
especial  longevity  may  be  cited  among  famous 
composers.     Mendelssohn  died  at  38,  Mozart  at 


134  Psychological  Errors 

35,  Purcell  at  37,  Pergolesi  at  26,  Bellini  at  t,^, 
Chopin  at  40,  and  Schubert  at  31;  but  Handel 
died  at  74,  Bach  at  65,  Haydn  at  77,  Palestrina  at 
70,  Spohr  at  75,  Gluck  at  73,  Cherubini  at  82, 
Meyerbeer  at  70,  Wagner  at  70,  Rossini  at  78,  and 
Verdi  at  87.  The  average  is  not  as  low  as  is 
supposed. 


CHAPTER  X 

MISTAKES  AND  ERRORS  IN  MUSICAL 
HISTORY 
In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  speak  of  literary 
errors  in  the  domain  of  music.  Almost  all  of  these 
are  on  the  analytical  or  technical  side,  but  occa- 
sionally errors  are  made  regarding  musical  history, 
and  these  range  from  misstatements  regarding 
compositions  to  untruths  about  the  origin  of  entire 
schools  of  music. 

The  Origin  of  Counterpoint 
How  audacious  the  "musical  novel"  may  some- 
times become  may  be  shown  by  a  synopsis  of  one 
that  appeared  in  a  Parisian  society  magazine  as 
far  back  as  1837.  I^  is  entitled  "La  Vieillesse  de 
Guillaume  Du  Fay"— "The  Old  Age  of  William 
Du  Fay" — and  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

March,  1465 — Night  in  Paris. — Du  Fay  with 
some  of  his  pupils  is  in  the  street,  returning  home. 
He  absent-mindedly  raps  at  the  wrong  door  and 
the  concierge,  Ursula,  tells  him  that  within  dwells 

»35 


136  Historical  Errors 

the  widow  of  Vicomte,  killed  in  a  duel.  The 
young  widow,  Helene,  is  the  daughter  of  Chevrus, 
the  Rebec  player;  she  is  poor  and  has  an  infant 
daughter.  Du  Fay,  who  knew  Chevrus  well, 
decides  to  protect  Helene — in  spite  of  the  objec- 
tions of  his  old  housekeeper,  Marion.  The  latter 
begs  Josquin  Des  Pres,  who  is  a  pupil  of  Du  Fay 
(!),  to  change  his  master's  decision.  But  Des  Pres 
himself  falls  in  love  with  Helene.  Six  months 
Helene  and  her  child  dwell  with  Du  Fay,  when 
the  infant  becomes  ill.  The  infant  is  left  in  the 
old  master's  care.    In  the  midst  of  a  tempestuous 

night,  Du  Fay,  agitated  and  senile,  manages  to  set 
the  apartment  on  fire.  The  child  is  burnt  badly 
and  dies.  Helene  goes  crazy.  She  sings  old  Noels. 
Du  Fay  notices  that  the  melody  is  varied  at  the 
repeat,  yet  can  be  made  to  accompany  itself.  He 
calls  the  attention  of  Josquin  Des  Pres  to  this,  who 
has  already  noticed  it.  Thereupon  the  two  musi- 
cians join  in  the  singing,  in  canonic  style.  This  at 
once  cures  Helene  of  her  insanity — and  Josquin 
Des  Pres  marries  her.  The  French  novelist  ends 
naively  with — "Le  Contrepoint  venait  d'etre  d^- 
couvertel"    Thus  was  counterpoint  discovered! 


Historical  Errors  137 

False  Names  of  Compositions 

Another  element  that  breeds  false  history  is  the 
facility  with  which  descriptive  names  not  intended 
by  the  composer  are  attached  to  many  important 
compositions.  These  names  are  not  always  wrong 
or  misleading,  but  the  musician  should  know  that 
they  do  not  come  from  the  composer.  The  names 
— "Moonlight  Sonata,"  "Sonata  Appassionata," 
"Emperor  Concerto,"  "Jupiter  Symphony,"  etc., 
do  not  come  from  Beethoven  or  Mozart,  however 
well  they  fit  the  compositions  to  which  they  are 
applied. 

Most  of  the  names  applied  to  Mendelssohn's 
Songs  without  Words  were  added  by  publishers. 
Mendelssohn  named  a  few  with  well-fitting  titles, 
such  as  "Duetto,"  "Gondellied,"  etc.  Such 
names  as  "Consolation,"  "Sadness,"  etc.,  were 
not  given  by  him.  Some  of  them  fit  the  tone- 
picture  very  well,  but  some  are  as  ludicrously 
out  of  place.  See  "The  Fleecy  Cloud,"  which 
has  enough  crashes  (fz)  for  a  thunder-cloud,  as 
a  glaring  example;  or,  "The  Song  of  the  Pilgrim," 
which  is  a  syncopation  study  and  in  which  the 


138  Historical  Errors 

"Pilgrim"  seems  to   have   hiccoughs  from  be- 
ginning to  end! 

Spurious  Tales  Regarding  Famous 
Works 

Against  these  the  teacher  should  be  constantly 
upon  his  guard,  for  they  mislead  many  pupils,  and 
are  apt  to  create  an  absurd  demand  for  a  "story" 
in  connection  with  many  works  which  should  be 
enjoyed,  without  any  such  fictitious  aid,  for  their 
music  alone. 

Stradella's  Prayer 

The  tender  and  expressive  "Pieta  Signore" 
("Stradella's  Prayer")  is  said  to  have  saved  the 
life  of  its  composer.  Stradella  had  fallen  in  love 
with  an  aristocratic  lady  in  Rome  and  she  returned 
his  affection.  The  high-born  brother,  fearing  the 
disgrace  of  his  family,  hired  two  bravos  (profes- 
sional murderers)  to  assassinate  Stradella  as  soon 
as  possible.  The  assassins  proceeded  to  the  church 
where  Stradella  was  that  day  to  sing  one  of  his  own 
compositions,  intending  to  slay  him  as  he  left  the 
edifice.    They  were,  however,  so  much  moved  by 


Historical  Errors  139 

the  tenderness  of  the  song  that  when  he  appeared 
on  the  street  they  not  only  warned  him  of  the  plot, 
but  gave  him  money  to  escape  from  Rome. 

Not  only  did  this  never  occur,  but  "Pieta 
Signore  "  is  not  one  of  Stradella's  compositions.  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Gluck,  and  it 
bears  some  of  this  composer's  characteristics,  but 
even  this  is  a  doubtful  point,  and  "Stradella's 
Prayer"  will  probably  always  remain  an  anony- 
mous composition. 

Pseudo-compositions 

The  story  of  another  famous  work  happens  to 
be  a  quite  true  tale,  but  serves  to  show  how  easily 
false  history  can  be  made  when  desired.  Hector 
Berlioz,  the  great  founder  of  modern  program 
music,  was  cordially  disliked  by  many  of  his  brother 
critics  in  Paris.  His  scathing  sarcasm,  his  bold 
iconoclasm,  and  his  extreme  demands  in  orchestral 
matters  made  him  many  enemies,  who  attacked 
his  music,  root  and  branch. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Berlioz  discovered 
an  old  musical  score  by  an  unknown  composer, 
Pere  Ducr6,  which  he  announced  as  treasure  tro\e 


140  Historical  Errors 

to  all  Paris.  Every  one  was  anxious  to  hear 
"L'Enfance  du  Christ,"  this  new-old  cantata. 
When  it  was  publicly  given,  in  Berlioz's  transcrip- 
tion, the  critics  found  traces  of  Berlioz  in  some  of 
the  numbers,  but  in  the  ^'Choeur  Mystique"  they 
discovered  mediaeval  music  in  its  best  state,  and  a 
few  even  hinted  that  if  Berlioz  could  write  some- 
thing like  that  he  might  indeed  have  hopes  of 
eventually  becoming  a  composer. 

Then  came  the  sweet  revenge.  Berlioz  explained 
that  there  was  no  "Pere  Ducre";  there  was  no 
mediaeval  manuscript;  there  was  no  "musical  dis- 
covery"; he  had  written  every  note  of  the  work 
himself,  and  he  was  greatly  obliged  to  the  reviewers 
who  had  at  last  given  him  hearty  praise. 

There  are  other  pseudo-compositions  in  the  re- 
pertoire of  to-day.  More  than  one  reviewer  has 
gone  into  ecstasies  over  Mozart's  12th  Mass,  and 
the  "Gloria"  in  this  has  been  spoken  of  as  an 
excellent  example  of  Mozart's  powers.  But  the 
fact  is  that  probably  ISIozart  did  not  write  a  note 
of  the  composition.  It  is  one  of  the  most  doubtful 
works  in  the  catalogue,  and  w^as  perhaps  made  up 
of  various  excerpts  from  unknown  sources. 


Historical  Errors  141 

The  Requiem  of  Mozart  also  falls  partially  in 
this  class,  for  it  is  known  that  Siissmayer,  his  pupil, 
wrote  some  parts  of  it,  after  the  death  of  the  master, 
in  order  that  the  widow  might  collect  the  fee  for 
the  work.  It  is  not  certain  what  parts  the  pupil 
composed,  although  we  may  be  sure  that  he  did 
not  write  the  double  fugue  of  the  "Kyrie."  Schu- 
bert's "L' Adieu"  is  also  to  be  placed  among  the 
"doubtful  compositions,"  and  several  other  of 
Mozart's  less  known  works  belong  to  this  "index 
expurgatorius." 

False  Stories  About  Beethoven 
Beethoven  has  also  suffered  both  from  false 
stories  and  from  wrongfully  ascribed  compositions. 
The  tender  little  waltz  called  "Sehnsuchtswalzer" 
is  not  by  Beethoven,  but  by  Schubert.  The  little 
Album-leaf,  which  has  been  called  "Beethoven's 
Farewell  to  the  Pianoforte,"  is  his  own,  but  was  by 
no  means  his  farewell  to  the  instrument  which  he 
had  glorified.  This  work  is  sometimes  labeled 
"Beethoven's  Last  Composition."  This  was  not 
the  case.  Beethoven's  last  complete  work  was  the 
finale  to  the  String  Quartet  in  B-flat  major,  Op. 


142  Historical  Errors 

130.  This  was  written  in  November,  1826,  only  a 
short  time  before  his  fatal  illness.  His  very  last 
(incomplete)  musical  thought  was  part  of  a  string 
quintet,  which  he  hoped  to  finish,  although  very 
ill. 

The  "Moonlight  Sonata" 

The  spurious  story  regarding  the  ''Moonlight 
Sonata"  is  something  that  must  grieve  every  think- 
ing musician.  That  Beethoven  found  a  piano  and 
a  blind  girl  in  the  woods  near  Vienna,  and  that  he 
improvised  a  sonata,  is  such  a  farrago  of  nonsense 
that  it  cannot  be  too  emphatically  contradicted. 

Yet  the  sonata  (Op.  27,  No.  2)  has  its  interesting 
story,  which  is  quite  different  from  the  silly  romance 
above  indicated.  It  may  have  been  a  musical  love 
letter  to  the  Countess  Giuletta  Guicciardi,  possibly 
even  a  farewell  to  her.  Her  name  appears  on  the 
first  edition,  in  1802,  and  the  sonata  is  dedicated  to 
her.  The  mysterious  and  very  intense  love  letters 
which  were  found  in  Beethoven's  desk  after  his 
death  probably  have  reference  to  this  passion. 
Even  at  this  time  it  must  have  been  evident  to 
Beethoven  that  nothing  could  come  of  this  hope- 
less attachment.    The  question  as  to  whether  he 


Historical  Errors  143 

voluntarily  withdrew  his  attentions  or  whether  the 
parents  of  the  lady  requested  him  to  cease  his  suit 
is  still  somewhat  doubtful,  Marx  holding  the 
former,  Thayer  the  latter  theory.  It  is  fair,  how- 
ever, to  suppose  that  the  first  movement  presents 
his  yearning,  and  the  finale  his  passion,  for  the 
beautiful  Giuletta.  That  Beethoven's  somewhat 
wandering  affections  crystallized  into  music  is  un- 
doubted, and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 
case  of  Giuletta  Guicciardi  his  devotion  was  deep 
and  sincere. 

Schumann's  "Warum" 

Perhaps  the  most  impudent  and  far-fetched 
story  that  has  been  saddled  upon  a  musical  com- 
position is  the  one  which  is  too  frequently  narrated 
in  connection  with  Schumann's  exquisite  question 
in  tones,  entitled  "Warum"— "Why?"  Schu- 
mann was  deeply  in  love  with  Clara  Wieck,  and 
the  father  of  Clara  vehemently  opposed  the  mar- 
riage, while  Clara  herself  devotedly  returned 
Schumann's  affection. 

Starting  from  this  perfectly  true  premise,  the 
story-teller  states  that  after  long  separation  the 


144  Historical  Errors 

young  lover  wrote  this  tender  question  on  a  sheet 
of  music-paper  and  sent  it  to  his  Clara.  She  read 
it  over  and  knew  at  once  its  purport.  **Why  must 
we  suffer?  Why  must  we  be  apart?"  She  wept 
over  the  manuscript,  and  then  carried  it  to  her 
stern  parent,  who  was  also  melted  to  tears  and  sent 
at  once  for  Schumann  and  said,  "Bless  you,  my 
children!" — and  they  lived  happily  ever  after- 
ward. 

This  is  all  very  pretty,  but  is  made  out  of  the 
whole  cloth.  Schumann  was  much  attracted,  in 
^^37 y  ^y  ^  young  Scottish  pianist.  Miss  Robena 
Anna  Laidlaw.  There  was  close  friendship  and 
much  mutual  sympathy  between  the  two.  They 
chatted  together,  they  rowed  together,  they  went 
on  walks  together.  He  even  suggested  that  "Anna 
Robena"  would  sound  more  musical  than  "Robena 
Anna,"  and  suggested  changing  the  order  of  her 
names,  which  she  did. 

There  was  high  respect  on  the  one  side  and 
admiration  on  the  other  in  this  intercourse.  The 
lady  afterward  married,  and  as  Mrs.  Thomson 
held  a  high  position  in  England  and  Scotland.  It 
was  to  her  that  the  set  of  "  Phantasie-stiicke,"  of 


Historical  Errors  145 

which  "Warum"  is  No.  3,  was  dedicated.  In 
order  to  thoroughly  settle  this  "Warum"  story  we 
v>'ill  quote  Schumann's  letter  regarding  the  work. 
He  writes  Miss  Laidlaw: 

''The  time  of  your  stay  here  will  always  be  a 
most  beautiful  memory  to  me,  and  that  this  is  true 
you  will  soon  see  in  eight  '  Phantasie-stiicke '  for 
pianoforte  that  will  shortly  appear  bearing  your 
name  on  their  forehead.  It  is  true  that  I  have  not 
asked  you  for  permission  to  make  this  dedication, 
but  they  belong  to  you,  and  the  whole  'Rosenthal,' 
with  its  romantic  surroundings,  is  in  the  music. 
The  '  Phantasie-stiJcke '  will  be  ready  by  the  end 
of  September.  How  and  in  what  way  shall  I  send 
them  to  you?" 

After  this  letter  goes  on  a  chat  about  friends 

and  begs  a  reply  to  be  written  in  English.    All  this 

occurred  in  1837.     Schumann  won  his  Clara  in 

1840.     He  won  her  by  a  lawsuit  in  which  he  proved 

that  he  was  of  good  reputation,  had  a  reasonable 

income,  that  both  the  lovers  were  of  legal  age,  and 

that  there  was  no  valid  ground  for  Fricdrich  Wieck 

to  oppose  their  marriage.     The  court  ordered  the 

father  to  cease  his  opposition  to  the  match. 
10 


146  Historical  Errors 

The  story  of  the  deep  affection  of  this  famous 
pair,  of  the  loyalty  and  devotion  through  months  of 
trial,  and  the  efforts  of  Schumann  to  earn  money 
and  position  for  Clara's  sake,  is  eloquent  and 
pathetic  enough  in  itself  and  needs  no  fictitious  aid 
by  any  story  regarding  a  tear-stained  and  very 
damp  "Warum." 

"Weber's  Last  Thought" 
One  other  composition  that  has  been  very  much 
used  in  all  kinds  of  variations  may  be  alluded  to  in 
this  place,  since  it  is  parading  under  false  colors. 
"Weber's  Last  Thought,"  or  "Weber's  Last 
Waltz,"  was  not  his  last  thought,  nor  his  thought 
at  all,  since  it  v^as  written  by  Reissiger.  There  was 
some  justification  for  the  title,  however. 

When  Weber  was  discovered  dead  in  his  bed  in 
London  they  found  this  waltz  in  manuscript  among 
his  papers.  Naturally  every  one  thought  that  it 
was  the  dead  master's  last  composition.  After  it 
had  been  published  as  such,  C.  G.  Reissiger,  the 
German  composer,  proved  that  it  was  his  own 
composition.  In  a  letter  to  the  composer  Pixis, 
Reissiger  writes:   "I  played  the  little  composition 


Historical  Errors  147 

to  Weber  and  his  wife  just  before  the  former  went 
to  London.  They  urgently  desired  a  copy  of  the 
work  and  I  therefore  wrote  it  down  for  Weber,  who 
took  it  with  him  to  England.  Its  discovery  among 
his  papers  is  probably  the  reason  that  the  work  is 
ascribed  to  him." 

This  was  an  innocent  and,  perhaps,  unavoidable 
error.  Far  less  excusable  are  some  of  the  false 
stories  recounted  and  exposed  above.  It  is  said 
that  "a  lie  will  travel  around  the  world  while  truth 
is  getting  on  its  boots";  nevertheless  truth  does 
generally  overtake  the  falsehood  at  last.  It  is 
possible  that  some  of  the  facts  which  are  here  given 
will  cause  the  false  stories  of  musical  history  to  be 
somewhat  less  frequently  cited  in  musical  club 
papers  and  in  musical  lectures  than  they  are  at 
present. 

The  teacher  should  certainly  try  to  eliminate 
such  stories  from  his  curriculum,  and  while  not 
despising  the  interest  of  a  true  bit  of  history, 
should  seek  to  teach  his  pupils  that  a  noble 
musical  work  has  no  need  of  a  "story"  attach- 
ment. 


148  Historical  Errors 

Oriental  Music 
Several  great  composers  have  misled  the  public 
as  regards  Oriental  music  through  their  composi- 
tions supposed  to  represent  this  school.  Bee- 
thoven's "Turkish  March"  is  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  Turkish.  Mozart's  ''Alia  Turca,"  in  his 
sonata  in  A  major,  for  piano,  is  also  not  Oriental. 
Very  much  of  the  Oriental  music,  except  the 
Chinese,  is  innocent  of  strong  rhythm  and  tends 
to  a  gentle  and  soothing  vein.  St.  Saens  has  been 
almost  the  only  European  composer  of  prominence 
who  has  caught  the  true  Eastern  spirit,  and  his 
"Suite  Algerienne"  or  his  song  "La  Brise"  may 
show  the  investigator  something  of  the  school 
which  has  been  so  often  misrepresented  by  greater 
composers. 

Ancient  Music 

There  are  some  glaring  errors  regarding  the 
existence  of  very  ancient  tunes,  which  are  fostered 
by  audacious  statements  in  certain  editions.  Thus 
some  Hymnals  present  "Leoni"  as  an  ancient 
Hebrew  melody.  We  have  seen  it  labelled  "4000 
years  old"  in  one  Hymnal,  and  "sung  in  the 
Temple  of  ancient  Jerusalem"  in  another,  while, 


Historical  Errors  149 

as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  not  of  any  especial  antiquity. 
The  oldest  music  in  existence  is  probably  the  Hymn 
to  Apollo,  which  was  discovered,  engraved  on 
marble,  at  Delphi,  in  May,  1893,  by  the  French 
archaeological  school  at  Athens.  This  celebrated 
the  victory  of  the  Phocians  over  Brennus,  the  Gaul, 
and  was  composed  about  278  b.  c.  There  is, 
however,  considerable  doubt  as  to  its  interpreta- 
tion in  our  notation.  It  is  in  a  strange  and  rather 
unsingable  5-4  rhythm.  An  ancient  Hymn  to 
Calliope  and  a  few  other  musical  antiques  exist, 
but  again  the  difficulty  of  deciphering  the  Greek 
notation  stands  in  the  way.  As  regards  scriptural 
music  not  a  scrap  is  left.  There  was  no  definite 
written  Hebrew  notation  in  the  time  of  David, 
and  therefore  any  hope  of  future  discoveries  is 
untenable.  The  oldest  piece  of  Jewish  music  in 
existence  is  possibly  "Kol  Nidrei,"  a  plaintive 
minor  melody,  sung  on  the  Day  of  Atonement. 
This  is  probably  of  Moorish  origin  and  not 
much  over  600  years  old.  *'Kol  Nidrei"  can 
be  obtained  in  various  arrangements  at  almost 
any  music  store,  the  violoncello  arrangement  by 
Max  Bruch  being  much  the  best. 


150  Historical  Errors 

Bach's  Suites 

A  mystifying  point  which  the  piano  teacher  is 
often  called  upon  to  unravel  is  the  naming  of  the 
two  sets  of  suites  for  piano,  by  Bach.  Of  course, 
they  were  not  originally  for  piano,  since  Bach 
cared  but  little  for  that  instrument,  but  were 
generally  played  on  the  spinet  or  clavichord. 
But  the  names  "English  Suites"  and  "French 
Suites"  are  puzzling.  The  usual  glib  explanation, 
that  one  set  was  dedicated  to  an  English  noble- 
man and  the  other  to  a  French  gentleman,  has  not 
been  proved.  Sir  Hubert  Parry,  in  his  recent 
excellent  work  on  Bach,  suggests  that  the  lightness 
and  daintiness  of  the  shorter  set,  quite  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  French  art,  gave  to  that  set  its  name,  which 
he  thinks  was  never  given  by  Bach  himself. 

The  "English  Suites"  were  not  published  during 
the  composer's  lifetime.  It  is  possible  that  the 
name  "English"  came  about  through  the  fact 
that  the  opening  prelude  in  this  set  is  taken  from 
a  Gigue  by  Dieupart,  who  was  at  that  time  very 
famous  in  England.  Bach  is  said  to  have  written 
on  this  "Fait  pour  les  Anglais,"  meaning  that 
the  melody  was  originally  written  for  the  English. 


Historical  Errors  151 

Possibly  the  early  publishers  mistook  this  as  ap- 
plying to  the  entire  set  and  thus  the  name  came 
about.  The  subject  is  by  no  means  cleared  up  as 
yet,  but  the  above  explanation  has  at  least  prob- 
ability in  its  favor. 

Errors  nsr  American  National  Music 
The  errors  in  this  branch  of  musical  history  are 
very  numerous  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  cite 
them  all  here.  They  will  be  found  mentioned  in 
Elson's  "Our  National  Music  and  its  Sources," 
Elson's  "History  of  American  Music,"  and  in  the 
excellent  monograph  by  Oscar  G.  Sonneck,  en- 
titled "Report  on  'The  Star-spangled  Banner,' 
etc."  All  that  we  desire  to  present  to  the  teacher 
in  this  chapter  is  a  summary  of  the  historical  facts 
of  the  case,  without  discussing  the  mass  of  false 
history  that  has  grown  up  around  our  national 
airs. 

"Yankee  Doodle"  remains  entirely  vague  as  to 
its  origin.  It  is  not  absolutely  certain  who  wrote 
the  words  which  gave  the  name  to  the  melody. 
It  is  utterly  uncertain  as  to  where  the  tunc  came 
from.     Many  countries  have  melodies  resembling 


152  Historical  Errors 

it.  Mr.  Sonneck  suggests  that  it  may  be  a  com- 
posite tune,  formed  of  at  least  two  different  melodies 
of  different  age.  The  present  writer's  opinion  is 
that  it  is  old  English  in  its  origin. 

''America"  was  written  as  an  anthem  for  a 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  given  by  children  in 
Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  in  1832.  The  words 
are  by  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Smith,  then  a  theological 
student  at  Andover.  The  tune  is  "God  Save  the 
King,"  the  English  anthem,  which  has  been  taken 
as  a  national  anthem  by  several  countries.  Who 
wrote  this  tune  is  unknown,  although  the  best 
English  authority  ascribes  it  to  Dr.  John  Bull  in 
the  time  of  King  James  the  first. 

''Hail  Columbia"  is  still  in  doubt.  Joseph 
Hopkinson  wrote  the  words  in  1798.  The  melody 
was  written  as  "The  President's  March,"  in  1789, 
nine  years  earlier.  Either  Philip  Phile  or  Johannes 
Roth  wrote  the  music,  probably  the  former.  The 
spelling  of  the  name  of  either  of  these  composers 
is  still  in  doubt. 

"The  Star-spangled  Banner"  is  now  accepted 
as  cur  official  national  anthem.  The  words  were 
written  by  Francis  Scott  Key  to  the  tune  of  "Adams 


Historical  Errors  153 

and  Liberty,"  a  very  popular  American  patriotic 
song.  But  this  tune  was  originally  a  drinking- 
song,  entitled  "To  Anacreon  in  Heaven,"  and  was 
composed  about  1770  (perhaps  a  trifle  later)  by 
John  Stafford  Smith.  The  unsingability  of  "The 
Star-spangled  Banner"  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
was  originally  a  rather  showy  solo,  as  a  drinking- 
song  would  be  apt  to  be. 

"Glory  Hallelujah,"  so  famous  in  the  Civil 
War,  was  originally  a  Methodist  hymn,  written 
by  a  musician  named  Steffe,  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 
The  original  words  about  "John  Brown's  Body" 
were  set  to  it  by  the  soldiers  in  Col.  Fletcher 
Webster's  12th  Massachusetts  regiment.  Mrs. 
Julia  Ward  Howe  afterward  added  the  grander 
words  of  "The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic." 

As  the  teacher  will  often  find  various  other 
origins  attributed  to  the  above  melodies  and  poems, 
the  above  condensation  of  the  historical  facts  may 
be  of  service. 


CHAPTER  XI 
ERRORS  ABOUT  MUSIC  IN  LITERATURE 

It  will  be  well  to  remember  that  when  poets 
and  litterateurs  introduce  references  to  music  into 
their  works  it  is  almost  always  a  non-musician 
speaking  about  an  art  or  science  that  is  full  of 
technicalities,  and,  therefore,  the  reader  may 
expect  many  slips.  The  music  teacher  may  some- 
times need  to  warn  his  pupils  against  them.  The 
"musical  novel"  is,  at  its  best,  only  an  addition 
of  sentimentality  to  a  subject  where  ''gush" 
already  rules  too  freely.  One  of  the  first  duties 
of  the  women's  clubs  that  study  musical  history 
is  to  banish  the  sentimentality  with  which  inferior 
lecturers  and  teachers  invest  music. 

As  the  virginals  is  an  instrument  no  longer 
played,  we  need  not  dwell  upon  Shakespeare's 
errors  made  in  the  128th  Sonnet,  where  the  virginal 
jacks  are  made  to  "kiss  the  tender  inward"  of  the 
hand  of  the  player,  which  would  be  as  impossible 

'54 


Literary  Errors  in  Music         155 

as  for  the  hammers  of  the  piano  to  perform  the 
same  feat. 

Browning's  Errors 

Browning  was  one  of  the  poets  who  frequently 
garnished  his  poems  with  musical  allusions. 
Generally  these  were  correct,  sometimes  even 
sublime,  but  occasionally  very  misleading  errors 
of  judgment  creep  in.  In  ''Abt  Vogler,"  for 
example,  he  speaks  of  that  master  as  improvising 
and  striking  the  common  chord,  and  then  "sliding 
by  semitones  till  I  sink  to  the  minor,"  which  would 
be  a  simple  chromatic  style  of  modulation  which 
would  not  be  approved  of  in  any  conservatory. 
He  also  speaks  of  ''Blunting  it  into  the  Ninth," 
which  would  be  a  very  odd  specimen  of  "blunt- 
ing" a  common  chord.  Then  he  gives  a  glorious 
metaphor  in  "For  my  resting-place  is  found,  the 
C  major  of  this  Life."  All  these  three  points 
are  found  in  the  last  stanza  of  "Abt  Vogler," 
whom,  by  the  way,  Mozart  stigmatized  as  a  quack 
and  charlatan. 

Browning  also  makes  a  decidedly  false  estimate 
of  two  composers  when,  in  "Bishop  Blougram's 
Apology,"  he  says: 


156        Literary  Errors  in  Music 

"Like  Verdi,  when,  at  his  worst  opera's  end 
(The  thing  they  gave  at  Florence, — what's  its  name?), 
While  the  mad  houseful's  plaudits  near  outbang 
His  orchestra  of  saltbox,  tongs,  and  bones, 
He  looks  through  all  the  roaring  and  the  wreaths, 
Wher*  sits  Rossini  patient  in  his  stall." 

It  is  bad  criticism  to  place  even  the  earlier  Verdi 
so  far  beneath  Rossini. 

In  the  seventh  stanza  of  "A  Toccata  of  Galup- 
pi's"  the  reader  will  find,  among  a  number  of  good 
musical  metaphors,  such  as  "commiserating 
sevenths,"  "Lesser  thirds  so  plaintive,"  etc.,  the 
astounding  line: 

"  Sixths,  diminished,  sigh  on  sigh." 

The  musical  student  will  scarcely  find  diminished 
sixths  in  his  curriculum,  but  Albrechtsberger 
gives  them  in  his  method.  Nevertheless,  a  succes- 
sion of  them,  "Sigh  on  sigh,"  would  mean  nothing 
less  than  a  series  of  consecutive  fifths,  which  would 
make  the  harmony  teacher  heave  "sigh  on  sigh." 
In  "Master  Hugues  of  Saxe-Gotha"  the  reader 
will  find  a  layman's  estimate  of  the  Fugue.  It  is  a 
vivid  description,  but  evidently  the  thoughts  of  a 
non-musician   who  has  no  authority  to  describe 


Literary  Errors  in  Music        157 

the  most  subtle  form  of  music  extant.  Never- 
theless, the  reader  will  find  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
and  Browning,  the  real  musical  triumvirate  in 
the  poetic  field,  and,  while  studying  their  poetry 
he  might  carefully  compare  Shakespeare's  8th 
Sonnet  with  the  seventh  verse  of  Browning's  "Abt 
Volger,"  and  see  how  two  music-lovers  extol 
harmony  or  counterpoint  above  mere  melody. 
There  is  a  curious  similarity  of  thought  in  these 
two  poems. 

Errors  in  Novels 
Naturally  we  shall  here  speak  only  of  great  or 
famous  writers,  for  the  musical  errors  of  the 
lesser  writers  are  simply  innumerable.  George 
Eliot  speaks  of  "a  long-drawn  organ  stop."  That 
would  simply  mean  a  lengthening  of  the  piece  of 
wood  that  the  organist  draws  out  by  a  knob,  and 
if  it  were  a  foot  or  two  in  length  it  would  be  a 
very  awkward  matter  for  the  performer.  Black 
speaks  of  his  heroine  going  to  the  piano  and 
dashing  ofT  Mozart's  Sonata  in  A  sharp.  That 
would  be  the  key  of  ten  sharps,  which  we  have  not 
seen  written  as  yet,  although  we  cannot  tell  what 


158        Literary  Errors  in  Music 

the  composer  of  the  near  future  may  do.  Ouida 
makes  one  of  her  heroes  a  tenor,  who  sings  wonder- 
ful airs  by  Palestrina.  They  must  indeed  be 
wonderful,  since  no  one  has  yet  discovered  any 
solo  airs  by  that  contrapuntal  composer.  We  also 
have  read  in  one  of  her  novels  of  an  organist  who 
plays  grand  masses  by  Mendelssohn.  We  would 
like  to  discover  those  masses. 

"Charles  Auchester"  is  the  musical  novel  that 
has  had  the  greatest  vogue,  and  was  the  progenitor 
of  many  sentimental  successors.  It  gives  a  totally 
false  picture  of  Mendelssohn  and  other  musical 
celebrities. 

Other  Poetical  Errors 

Coleridge,  in  the  "Ancient  Mariner,"  has  this 
stanza — 

"The  wedding  guest  here  beat  his  breast, 
For  he  heard  the  loud  bassoon." 

Now  the  bassoon  is  neither  "loud"  nor  is  it 
prominent  in  wedding  music.  It  was  probably 
the  trombone  that  Coleridge  meant,  which  is 
called  "Posaune"  in  German.  Coleridge  may 
have  been  misled  by  the  similarity  of  sound  of  the 


Literary  Errors  in  Music        159 

names.  But  in  the  same  poem  he  has  the  good 
metaphor  of  the  ''lonely  flute,"  and  any  one 
familiar  with  certain  touches  in  Mendelssohn 
and  Beethoven  will  recognize  the  aptness  of  the 
adjective. 

Tennyson,  who  wrote  most  musical  poetry,  was 
the  most  unmusical  of  poets,  and  one  will  very 
seldom  find  any  musical  metaphor  in  his  works. 
But  even  among  the  very  few  he  manages  to  make 
one  decided  error.  It  is  in  "Maud,"  where  the 
verse  runs — 

"All  night  have  the  roses  heard 
The  flute,  violin,  bassoon, 
All  night  has  the  casement  jessamine  stirred 
To  the  dancers,  dancing  in  tune." 

A  band  of  "flute,  violin,  bassoon"  would  be 
somewhat  worse  than  the  average  street-band, 
but  here  something  was  needed  to  rhyme  with 
"tune." 

Composer's  Estimates  of  Co^rposERS 

These  are  often  very  misleading.  Composer's 
are  sometimes  the  poorest  judges  of  other  com- 


i6o        Literary  Errors  in  Music 

posers.  A  composer  like  Wagner  or  Beethoven, 
wedded  to  a  certain  school,  might  be  blind  to  the 
merits  of  a  school  differing  totally  from  his  own. 
Thus  Handel,  when  devoted  to  a  certain  style  of 
operatic  composition,  could  see  nothing  in  the 
freer  and  less  contrapuntal  style  of  Gluck.  **Hc 
knows  no  more  of  counterpoint  than  my  cook!" 
was  his  indignant  summing  up  of  his  contem- 
porary. But  one  might  add  that  Handel's  cook 
happened  to  be  a  fair  musician.  Beethoven 
could  not  understand  Weber.  "He  studied  music 
so  late  that  he  never  attained  more  than  the  art 
of  pleasing,"  was  his  judgment.  But  Weber  pub- 
lished a  set  of  six  very  good  Fughettas  (really 
fugal  expositions)  when  he  was  ii  years  old. 

Weber,  on  his  side,  could  not  appreciate  the 
grandeur  of  Beethoven.  "He  is  now  fit  for  the 
mad-house,"  was  his  criticism  after  the  fourth 
symphony  was  published.  Mozart,  as  above 
stated,  held  Abt  Vogler,  the  teacher  of  Weber  and 
Meyerbeer,  to  be  an  arrant  charlatan.  Schumann, 
generally  the  fairest  of  critics,  held  that  Meyerbeer 
had  led  music  into  the  circus.  Mendelssohn  held 
Schumann's  music  in  very  slight  esteem.     This 


Literary  Errors  in  Music        i6i 

statement  has  been  combated  in  England,  but 
there  is  evidence  that  this  was  the  case.  Mendels- 
sohn's closest  friend  in  England  was  Chorley, 
and  it  was  Chorley  who  constantly  abused  Schu- 
mann as  if  he  had  been  the  veriest  mountebank. 
He  said,  regarding  him,  "Young  Germany  is  in 
a  fever  which,  should  it  last,  will  superinduce  an 
epilepsy  fatal  to  the  life  of  music."  He  heard  the 
great  symphony  in  B-flat  "with  less  than  little 
satisfaction."  "Broken  Crockery  School"  and 
"Delirium  Tremens"  were  a  few  of  the  English 
reviews  on  Schumann  at  this  time. 

Brahms  had  the  most  contemptuous  opinion  of 
Bruckner's  music.  Chopin  undervalued  Schu- 
mann and  thought  Mendelssohn  "common." 
Cherubini  could  not  understand  Berlioz  at  all. 
Gounod  said  of  Franck's  D  minor  symphony  that 
"it  is  the  affirmation  of  incompetence  pushed  to 
dogmatic  lengths."  Debussy  has  belittled  Strauss 
and  Wagner.  Wagner  has  abused  Meyerbeer, 
has  said  that  "Schumann  had  a  certain  tendency 
toward  greatness,"  and  held  Mendelssohn  to  be 
utterly  vapid.    Tschaikowsky   thought   that   the 

music  of  Brahms  was  quite  uninspired.     Brahms 
11 


1 62        Literary  Errors  in  Music 

cordially  disliked  some  of  Tschaikowsky's  sym- 
phonic music. 

The  list  is  too  long  to  pursue  to  its  end.  Suf- 
ficient has  been  quoted  to  show  that  composers 
are  often  the  poorest  imaginable  critics  of  work 
in  other  schools  than  their  own.  The  errors  of 
musical  criticism  would  make  a  very  interesting 
volume.  Chorley's  vituperation  of  Schumann, 
Hanslick's  fury  against  Wagner  and  Bruckner, 
Bernard  Shaw  finding  that  Paderewski  "almost 
displayed  temperament," — the  list  of  errors  is  too 
long  to  quote,  but  it  is  consoling  to  find  the  really 
good  in  art  surviving  all  the  mud  throwing. 


CHAPTER  XII 
CONCLUSION 

From  the  foregoing  chapters  it  will  be  seen  that 
music  as  a  science  is  as  yet  far  less  unified  than 
all  the  sister  sciences.  Many  matters  have  been 
left  at  loose  ends.  Certain  of  these  points  cry 
loudly  for  unification.  Among  the  most  important 
are  the  misuse  of  the  sextolet,  the  irregular  use  of 
the  long  slur,  the  use  of  accidentals,  the  misprints 
and  misunderstandings  of  long  grace  notes,  the 
misunderstandings  about  the  interpretation  of  the 
turns  in  all  kinds  of  music,  the  dual  use  of  the 
term  "Portamento,"  the  irregular  methods  used 
in  artificial  groupings,  etc. 

The  most  dangerous  of  all  mistakes  is  the  idea 

that  a  single  teacher,  or  a  conservatory,  or  even 

an  entire  nation,  can  set  these  matters  straight 

unaided  and  alone.     There  is  an  imperative  need 

of  an  International  Congress  in  the  Science  of 

Music,  just  as  there  are  international  congresses 

in   medicine,   in   theology,  and   in  other  studies. 

163 


164  Conclusion 

Only  an  international  congress  to  which  representa- 
tive musicians  from  many  countries  are  sent 
would  have  the  power  to  lay  down  rules  with 
authoritative  force,  and  this  only  after  debate  and 
thorough  comparison  of  usages. 

When  America  holds  its  next  World's  Fair,  in- 
stead of  giving  a  number  of  concerts  with  native 
and  foreign  musicians,  it  might  inaugurate  such 
a  World's  Congress  for  the  revision  of  doubtful 
points  in  music.  Such  a  meeting  would  find 
plenty  of  work  upon  its  hands.  But  it  might 
introduce  order  where  considerable  chaos  rules 
at  present.    It  would  be  epoch-making. 

The  cause  of  so  much  dissension  is  not  far  to 
seek.  Our  musical  system  has  grown  up,  by  accre- 
tion chiefly,  during  a  full  thousand  of  years.  Old 
customs  have  passed  away  in  some  countries  and 
not  in  others.  Musicians,  not  being  skilled  ety- 
mologists, have  given  sanction  to  a  misuse  of  terms 
through  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  their  origin. 

Notation  has  come  about  little  by  little  through 
many  centuries.  Some  of  the  shortcomings  of 
ancient  times  have  been  inherited  along  with 
much   that   is   good.     One   cannot   sweep   away 


Conclusion  165 

ruthlessly  a  system  that  has  taken  such  deep  root, 
but  we  can  at  least  eliminate  the  chief  faults. 
Every  little  while  some  reformer,  seeing  the  many 
faults,  tries  to  take  a  short  cut  to  reform  by  invent- 
ing a  new  system  of  notation.  We  cannot  believe 
in  the  feasibility  of  any  such  radical  change.  But, 
retaining  all  that  is  good,  or  at  least  all  that  is 
universally  accepted,  and  weeding  out  merely  local 
mistakes,  we  may  yet  make  music,  in  its  written 
form  and  in  its  execution,  what  it  was  always  meant 
to  be — a  universal  language.  May  the  Congress 
for  the  Revision  of  Music  and  Notation  come  soon ! 


THE   END 


INDEX 


"Abt    Vogler,"    by    Browning, 

155 
Accents,  natural  and  artificial,  56, 

57 
Acciaccatura,  52  e/  seq. 
Accidentals,  58  e^  seq. 

end  at  bar-line,  59 

in  different  octaves,  83 

notation  faulty,  78  et  seq. 
Acoustics,  8 
Alia  breve,  99  et  seq. 
Alterations  of  words  in  songs,  1 19, 

120 
"America,"  origin  of,  152 
American  fingering,  44 

national  music,  151 
Ancient  music,  errors  about,    148 
Andante  and  Andanlino,  92 
Animals  and  music,  10 
AfKjllo,  Hymn  to,  149 
Appoggiatura,  52  e/  seq. 
Architectural  acoustics,  25 
Arsis,  59 

Artificial  groups,  84 
Asscxiation  of  ideas  in  music,  123 
Atmosphere,  effect  on  tone,  8 

"B"  IN  Germany,  tj  et  seq. 
Bach's  suites,  150 

"wcU-temperid    clavichord," 
comjjass  of,  13 


Bar,  use  of  word,  89 
Baton,  conducting  with,  38 
Beach,  Mrs.,  views  on  color  ana 

emotion,  11 
Beethoven,  false  stories  about,  141 

over  use  of  Italian,  94,  95 

xaews  on  emotions  of  keys,  15 
Berlioz,  practical  joke  in  music, 
139,  140 

table  of  emotions  of  keys,   13 
et  seq. 
Biblical  allusions  to  music,   124, 

"Bishop    Blougram's    Apology," 

by  Browning,  156 
Boehm  flute  healthy  to  practice, 

132 
Bourdon  in  organs,  102 
Brain  action  in  music,  126 
Breath-marks  for  choruses,  119 
Breathing    in    wind    instruments, 

130  et  seq. 
Browning's  musical  errors,  155 
Billow,     Von,     views    on     trills, 

49 
Byzantine  scales  and  signatures, 

30 

Catarrh     among     wind-instru- 
ment players,  132 
,  Catgut,  35 
67 


i68 


Index 


Causes  of  many  errors,  7,  164 
Character  of  keys,  13 

of  rhythms,  98 
Child,  what  constitutes  a  musical, 

117 
Children's  voices,  compass  of,  116, 

117 
Chorley's  criticisms  of  Schumann, 

161 
Chorus  breathing-marks,  119 
Church-music  notation,  100 
" Clarinette,"  not  "clarionet,"  42 
Clarinette  not  used  in  old  scores, 

42 
Clefs,  errors  concerning,  66 

origin  of,  66  et  seq. 
Coda,  105 

Color  and  tone,  11,  12 
Common  time  a  misnomer,  90 
Compass  of  orchestra,  27 

of  tone,  12,  13 
Composers'    estimates    of    other 
composers,  160 

longevity  of,  133 

names      mispronounced,     iii, 
112 
Compositions  bearing  false  names, 

137 

cause  of  death,  133 
Concert  pitch,  19 
Conducting  beats,  42 

by  composers,  39 

with  baton,  38 
Conductors  as  performers,  40 
Contra-bass,  five-stringed,  28 
Comet,  material  of,  37 
Counterpoint,    absurd    story    of 

origin,  135 


Debussy,  whole-toned  scale,  31 
Deep  tones  travel  farthest,  9 
Deepest  tone  in  music,  12 
Demi-marcato  instead  of  porta- 
mento, 60 
Diapason,  stopped,  102 
Double  whole  rests,  71 
"Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume,"  the 

most  composed  poem,  121 
Dunham,  Henry  M.,  on  stopped 
diapason,  102 

Effects  of  musical  practice,  130 
Emotions  of  keys,  13  e^  seq. 
"Enfance   du    Christ,"    L',    139, 

140 
English    ecclesiastical     notation, 
100 

names  for  length-notes,  100 

suites  by  Bach,  150 
Errors  in  celebrated  songs,  109 

in  translations,  120,  121 

False    names    of    compositions, 

137 
Fff.,  meaning  of,  65 
Fingering,  American,  44 
Five-division  song-form,  106,  107 
Flats,  notation  of,  78  el  seq. 
Flute,  silver  vs.  wooden,  37 
Flute-playing  conducive  to  health, 

132 
Folk-songs  in  strophe-form,  108 
French  suites  by  Bach,  150 
Fugal  nomenclature,  107 

General  mispronunciations,  no 
"George  Eliot"  musical  error,  157 


Index 


169 


German  nomenclature  in  sonatas, 

105 
"Glory  Hallelujah,"  origin  of,  153 
"God  save  the  King,"  152 
Goodrich,    Wallace,    on    stopped 

diapason,  102 
Grace  notes,  long  and  short,  52 

et  seq, 
Gregorian  tones,  31c/  seq. 
Groups,  artificial,  84 

of  rests,  72 
Gypsy  scale,  31c/  seq. 

"H"  IN  Germany,  77  e/  seq. 
"Hail  Columbia,"  origin  of,  152 
Halls,  examples  of  poor  and  good. 

Harp,  key  of,  29 

Health  and  music  practice,   130, 

131 
Hexachordal  scale,  130 
Highest  tone  in  music,  12 
Horns,  easiest  keys  of,  29 
Hymn  notation  in  England,  10 1 

Insanity,  effect  of  music  upon, 

124 
Instrumentation,  works  on,  40 
Internaticmal     musical     congress 
necessary,  164 
pitch,  20 
Italian  lx;st  for  terms  of  expres- 
sion, 45,  95 
overuse  of,  95 

"John  Andcrsfm,  my  Jo,"  often 
misprinted,  33 


"John  Brown's  Body,"  origin  of, 
153 

Keys,  definite  emotions  of,  i^  et 
seq. 

fallacies  about,  16 

favorite,  of  composers,  15 

orchestral,  16,  28,  34 
"Kol    Nidrei, "    ancient    Jewish 

melody,  149 

Lack  of  musical  perception,  128 
Language  in  musical  terms,  45 

in      tempo      and      expression 
marks,  94 

vocal,  114 
"Last  Thought"  not  by  Weber, 

146 
Latin,  pronunciation  of,  116 
Length  of   composers   lives,  133, 

134 
"Leoni"  not  very  ancient  music, 

148 
List  of  most  important  musical 

errors,  163 
Longevity  of  composers,  133 

Material  of  wind  instruments,  37 
Materia  medica,  music  as,  123 
Memorization  of  music,  126,  127 
Mendelssohn's  estimate  of  Schu- 
mann, 161 
Metre,  119 

Metronome  marks,  93 
Mispronunciations,    jKiimiar,   no 

of  comjxisers  names,  in,  112 
"Moonlight      Sonata"      not     so 
named,  14a 


170 


Index 


Mordents,  51 
Mozart's  Requiem,  141 

Twelfth  Mass,  140 
Muscular  changes  due   to   prac- 
ticing, 129 
Music  as  medicine,  123 

not  a  natural  science,  10 
Musical    perception,     beginnings 
of,  127 
lack  of,  128 
quickness  of,  128 
terms,  language  of,  45 

"Nattjral"  a  proper  term,  82 
foundations  of  music,  10 

Nomenclature  in  sonata,  German, 
105 

Non-musical  natures,  128 

Notation,  old,  100 

Notes,  longest  and  shortest,  75,  76 

Novels,  musical  errors  in,  157 

Numerals   connected    with    rests, 
73.  77 

"Obbligato,"  often  misspelt,  40 
Oboe-playing,  effects  of,  131 
Oldest  music  in  existence,  149 
Old  music,  tempo  marks,  91 

notation,  100 
Orchestra,  deepest     instruments, 
28 

size  of,  2^ 

Wagner's,  34 
Orchestral  errors,  27 

keys,  16,  28,  34 
Organ,  deepest  tone,  27 

highest  tone,  28 
Oriental  music,  errors  about,  148 


Overmarked  shadings,  64 

Overtones,  17 

Over  use  of  Italian,  95 

Paderewski  on  rubato,  96,  97 
Pedal,  methods  of  marking,  47,  48 
Pedaling,  46 
Pentatonic  scale,  30 
Phrases  and  periods,  104 
Physical  changes  due  to  practic- 
ing, 129 

effects  of  practicing,  130 
Piano,  pianoforte,  and  pianist,  in 

touch,  63 
"Pieta  Signore,"  138 
Pitch,  19 

absolute,  19 

concert,  19 

international,  20 
Popular  errors  in  pronunciation, 

no 
Portamento,  59 
Ppp,  meaning  of,  65 
Praller,  or  prall  trill,  51 
Pseudo-compositions,  139,  140 
Pure  tone,  17 

Quality  of  tone,  causes  of,  17 
Quickness  of  musical  perception, 
128 

Recitative,  appoggiatura  in,  55 
Reissiger's  waltz,  146 
Religious  signs  in  notation,  90 
Repeat  marks,  103 

often  overused,  69 
Requiem,  Mozart's,  141 
Rests,  70  et  seq. 


Index 


171 


Rfz.,  8 

Rhythm,  character  of,  98 

marks,  loi,  102 
Rh\thms,  counting  of,  43,  97,  98 

eflects  of,  123  et  seq. 
Ro billies  on  wind  instruments,  130 
Rogers,  Dr.  J.  Frederick,  on  wind 

instruments,  130,  131 
Rubato,  95 

Saxophone  conducive  to  health, 

132 
Scale,  Byzantine,  30 

hexachordal,  30 

Hungarian  gypsy,  31 

pentatonic,  30 

whcle-toned,  31 
Scale-forms  and  modulations,  29 

et  seq. 
Schubert's  "Adieu,"  141 

use  of  strophe-form,  110 
Score  notation,  41 
"Scots  wha  Hae"  peculiar  scale, 

33 
Scriptural  music,  none  extant,  149 

uses  of  music,  124,  125 
"Senza  Sordine,"  46 
Sextolets,  wrongly  notated,  84,  85 
Shading  often  overmarked,  64 
Shakespearian  error  in  music,  154 
Sharjjs,  78  et  seq. 
Signatures,  Byzantine,  30 
Slurs  as  syllable-marks,  88 

errors  in  long,  85  et  seq. 

in  violin  or  vocal  music,  88 

when  f(;llowcd  by  a  dot,  6i 
Sonata  allegro,  103 

terminology,  104,  105 


Song-form,  five-division,  106,  107 

two-part,  107 
Sonneck,  Oscar  G.,  on  American 

national  music,  151  e/  seq. 
Sound,  speed  of,  8 

what  is,  8 
Spurious  tales  regarding  fam-^  us 

works,  138  et  seq. 
Staccato,  57 
"Star-spangled    Banner,"    origin 

of.  152.  153 
Stems  as  accent  marks,  58 
Step  and  half-step,  82 
Stopped  diapason,  102 
Stradella's  Prayer,  138 
Strophe-form,  108 
St.  Vitus    dance,    singing    as    s 

remedy,  123 
Sympathy    of    vibrations,    21    et 

seq. 
Symphony,  meaning  of  word,  42 

Tablaturk,  20 

Tarantula,  music  used  for  bite  of, 
124 

Temp<j  marks,  91 
in  old  music,  92 
rubato,  95,  96,  97 

Tennyson  unmusical,  159 

Tessitura  of  compositions,  15,  ii8 

Theme,  104 

Thesis,  59 

"Three  Fishers,"  error  in,  109 

Time,  common,  incorrect,  90 
origin  of  J  sign,  90 

"Time,"  misuse  of  word,  89 

"  Toccata  of  Galuppi,"  by  Brown- 
ing. 156 


172 


Index 


Tone,  pure,  17 

quality,  causes  of,  17 
Tones,  highest  and  lowest  audible, 

13 

Touch,  theories  about,  63 
Translations,  errors  in,  120,  121 
Transposing  instruments,  34,  35 
Transposition  generally  a  defect, 

16 
Tremolo,  vocal,  114 
Trills,  beginning  and  ending  of, 

48 
Triple  rhythm  often  sextuple,  56 
Trombone,  valve  and  slide,  37 
Turns,  misprints  and  errors,  50 
Two-part  song-form,  107 

Vibrations,  highest  and  lowest 
audible,  12 

sympathy  of,  21 
"Vieillesse    du    Guillaume    Du- 

Fay,"  135 
Violins,  effect  of  age  upon,  36 


"Violoncello"  often  misspelt,  39 
Vocal  language,  114 

tremolo,  114 
Voices,  Children's,  117 

Wagner's  orchestra,  34 
Waltz-accents  often  |,  56 
"Warum,"   by   Schumann,   false 

story  about,  143  e(  seq. 
"Weber's    Last    Thought"    not 

by  Weber,  146 
Whispering  galleries,  25 
Whole  rests,  double,  71 

have  changing  value,   70  et 
seq. 
Wind     instruments,     effect     on 
health,  130,  131 
material  of,  36 
Words,   alteration   of,  in   songs, 
119,  120. 

"Yankee  Doodle,"  facts  about, 
151 


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